


Potion Roulette

by mewringo13



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Age Regression, Alcohol, Body Swap, Broken Bones, Cat Ears, Cooking, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Klutz, Make-out, Marriage, On Hiatus till it is beta read, Paralysis, Potion Mayhem, Rated M for later Chapters, Some Romance, daily life, genderbender, lemon in later chapters, love potion, merman, sick Link, tiny Link
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-03 22:04:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 33,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10976244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mewringo13/pseuds/mewringo13
Summary: Zelda becomes bored at the Hateno house and goes to making potions. Unfortunately, she forgot to label them as she was working. Link is the test subject for her shenanigans.





	1. Chapter 1: Finny Fun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by Goodknightz on tumblr

**Chapter 1: Finny Fun**

* * *

 

 

Link was away on an errand to goddess-knows-where. With nothing to do, Zelda was bored and their home progressively getting lonelier without his company. A sudden urge of productiveness rose within her, filling her with the desire to experiment on different kinds of effects that different materials could create.

Zelda stood from the comfort of her chair and began to gather materials. The thought of doing nothing didn't sit right by her any longer. Prepping all the necessary items, she began making bottle after bottle of elixirs, potions, tonics, and serums. After a long night of losing herself in her experiments and notes she realized she had forgotten to label which bottle was supposed to have which guesstimated effect. She dusted off a shelf and lined up the vials and drams in a nice line. 

“Guess I went a bit overboard…” she muttered. “Oh well, a lack of labeling isn’t so bad. Keeps things interesting” she mused to herself as she made her way back to her seat to enjoy the sight of her creations.

Zelda sunk into the chair, and began examining her notes by the table side. Her knight had been gone for a couple days already, but was due to return at any minute’s notice! However, not as soon as she wished.

Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes into hours. With nothing to keep her busy the young princess began losing herself in reading and ended up napping on the same table she was studying on. 

 

* * *

The sound of a door opening and closing woke the princess from her slumber. She rubbed her eyes and looked around in confusion, and was greeted by the grin of a familiar hero.

It was Link!

She bolted from her chair to welcome her Knight with open arms, but before she got to him, he happily greeted her with a bouquet of freshly picked Silent Princesses, which he knew Zelda adored. Link placed them into the vase on the dining room, and looked around and noticed there was notes, tomes, and several bottles around. 

“I missed you! What took you so long?” Zelda asked as she gave him a hug from behind. “I know the villagers asked you to gather some materials from-”

Zelda was cut off as two low growls rang around the room. Both blondes looked at each other in surprise and confusion. Zelda blushed in embarrassment as she realized the sound had come from their empty stomachs. Link grinned at her and showed her some fresh ingredients he had caught on his way home.

  
“Before we catch up… how about a meal?” Link offered. Zelda smiled and nodded gratefully.

With that Link began to work on a pot of stew for dinner, while Zelda made the table for them. The two of them sat and had a chat about what he did on his quest.

Link stood up and got a second serving of stew, as he sat down he noticed something on the wall, he turned to Zelda and pointed at the arrangement of different bottles on the wall. “I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one busy today,” he muttered. “Any new discoveries Princess?” he asked curiously.

Zelda smiled sweetly at him “Link… I’m… going to need your help with a project of mine.” she asked, trying to be as vague as possible to avoid suspicion on her ulterior motives. 

“What is it?” he asked as he looked up briefly from his meal.

“I was brewing some new elixirs, and…. As it turns out… I may or may not have remembered to label them as I bottled them.” she confessed shyly. “Could you assist me in trying them out as I record the results?”

He paused for a second, “If it has nothing that includes licking frogs, I suppose I can…” he answered and immediately went back to scarfing down his second share.

“Great~! We’ll start bright and early tomorrow; get some sleep my dear knight,” she beamed. It was hard for Link to say no to her, specially when she got like this.

* * *

The next morning Link awoke to a beautiful sunrise. He rolled out of bed first and started to prepare some breakfast before they started their day.

_ Best to do not do this on an empty stomach _ , he thought.  _ I’m going to need all the energy I can get  if it’s anything like the last time…  _ Link’s face paled for a second as he recalled the last time they had a potion session.  _ I really hope it doesn’t involve the mixing of korok seeds this time… that’s what I’m most afraid of. _

He shook his head and slapped his cheeks. “Best not think of that!” he said to himself as he began to gather the breakfast ingredients.

Sometime later Zelda was roused awake by the wafting scent of pancakes and the sweet smell of roasted berries. She rose from her bed, donned her robe, and made her way to the table where her share was sitting, pipping hot and smelling oh-so-deliciously.

Zelda eyed the dish in surprise and delight.

“I’m serious Link, even if you hadn’t become my knight, you definitely would have still made your way to the castle as a personal chef in time. This is on par or even tops anything that our regular chefs had made for us back then,” she chimed. 

Link recalled his previous quest and remembered finding the main chef’s recipe book, and in it, Zelda’s favorite dish, fruit cake. This dish had just been his take on it. 

“Thank you Milady. While I appreciate the compliment, it’s really nothing that special… I’m just a humble knight after all...” he said, still embarrassed. She really couldn’t see him while he had his back turned to her, however Zelda could see a beet red blush spreading all the way to his pointy ears. It mightve been her imagination, but she swore she had seen him smiling proudly.

However, the princess frowned slightly and looked down at the table sadly. She had already been over this with him, but he had yet to fully respect her wishes. But she would made herself be heard!

“You know… There’s no need to be so modest anymore Link... the kingdom is no more and…. I think it’s about time we drop the formalities,” she said staring directly into his eyes as he turned around.

She obviously knew Link had been bound by duty before, but she was ready to be a normal, average Hylian girl. “Please... I want you to address me as Zelda. Not Princess nor Milady, Zelda and only Zelda,” she added.

Link looked at her in shock, it was hard for him to contain his surprise. This request had come before, but nowhere near this direct. He could see in her eyes that addressing her as royalty and not an equal was bothering her. But it went against everything he had trained for, and her image as princess was hard to erase from his mind… but if it was what his lady wanted... 

“I understand Mila--No! I-I mean… Z-z-” he mumbled.  “Ze-Zelda,” he stammered, finally.

_ I can tell it's gonna be hard to break old habits.  _ Zelda stared blankly for a second, only to suddenly begin giggling to herself. 

“That’s better! Now come over here and enjoy your food before it gets cold. This is too good to pass up,” she said as she chew through a chunk of the pancake, quite unlady like.

Link chuckled at her antics as he rubbed the back of his head and then joined her at the table. 

Not even eight minutes had passed and his share was but a distant memory, as he licked the plate clean. 

The hero gathered the dishes to clean by the creek, while Zelda got things set up inside.

 

* * *

Link made his way back home just in time as Zelda finished lining up the bottles in the table. She made sure to bring out the comfy chairs they used while sitting next to the hearth, just as a precaution.

“That should do it. Now what I want you to do is pick a vial, and drink the contents. We’ll wait for the effects to kick in. If something does happen, we’ll figure out what to do from there,” she instructed her little guinea pig. Link took a seat and followed her directions.

“Well here goes nothing! Bottom’s up!” Link yelled as he raised his bottle up jokingly making a toast and then swallowed the contents rapidly. 

The potion itself tasted of the ocean, salty and a bit fishy.

Suddenly, his eyes bulged slightly and his throat dried almost in seconds. Thirst crept up on him, forcing him to run out the house and onto the pond around the other side of the property. After stumbling himself to the edge of the pond and satiating himself,  Zelda came running scared of the unexpected outcome.

Link cried out in surprise as he felt his legs were suddenly fusing into one another, to what seemed to be a fish tail of sorts. 

Zelda looked in surprise as the unimaginable happened. _It's not a fish tail... its definitely dolphin like… It kinda reminds me of Mipha’s tail._ Zelda mused, lost in thought. The skin on his legs began dull a bit, gaining a grayish-blue hue. _Are these the effects of the Zora Scale potion I made? I figured he would gain more stamina to swim… but is this what a Zora scale mixture can do when ingested?_

“Zelda! What’s happening!? A little help please! It seems as if I’ve fallen and I can’t get up...” Link shouted over to Zelda, who was still dumbfounded from what she just witnessed.

“Link, give me a minute! I think I have an idea. Just wait in the pond while I figure this out.” She yelled in a panic. She had NOT expected this outcome in the LEAST. So she didn’t have certain parameters set up. 

_ If only I labeled it as I should have while I was working… _ Suddenly a light bulb went off in her head.  _ What if I borrowed a cart from one of the neighbors? That would work to transport Link to a bigger body of water… _

She immediately took off for the shopping area. Luckily, one of the farmers had a spare wagon to borrow and was more than glad to let her borrow it. Of course she didn’t mention the fact that Link was suddenly a…. Mer...maid?… mer...merman?

She went to fetch Epona from the stables next to the house and hitched the wagon to her. Somehow, Zelda managed to help Link in, and lead the horse to Hateno Bay.

“Why are we going there?” Link wondered, “Shouldn’t I stay close in case something else happens while it’s still affecting me?”

“Somehow, Link, I doubt anything worse can happen...” 

Zelda tried to give some comfort to her friend. “Although… I was thinking, why don’t you take advantage of your predicament and explore the depths on Hateno Bay? You may find some treasure that even the Magnesis rune couldn’t reach.”

Although Link didn't completely appreciate the current situation, Zelda’s words rung true. 

“You’re not wrong…” he said as he mulled over the map in his mind, trying to remember where those spots were. “Why… we may even strike it rich!” he said with enthusiasm.

“Now that’s the knight I know,” she encouraged. “Now once you return to normal, you should be capable of walking back, the trek isn’t too far.” 

They pulled up to the shore and the two of them worked together to slide Link off of the cart. Somehow Link squirmed his way to the water and tossed Zelda his tunic.

“I doubt that I’m going to need that given my current form, keep it safe while I’m out here please, I shouldn’t be too long… hopefully” he reassured Zelda. 

While Link got used to his new bearings, Zelda sketched out what the results looked like in her records. After an hour or two, Link had managed to get used to the new changes in his body. After a while longer, Zelda gathered their belongings in the wagon and got Epona set up for their journey back.

“Have a safe trip back,” he said with a smile. Zelda smiled in return… but then looked down sadly.

She was the one that had gotten him into this situation, and wasn’t even gonna be able to stay by his side. “I’m… sorry I got you in this predicament…” she muttered sadly.

Link noticed the guilt in her face, and immediately responded.

“Nonsense! Thanks to you I have this once in a lifetime opportunity!” he beamed. “My only regret is Prince Sidon isn’t here to see which of us is faster,” he laughed as he winked at her jokingly.

Zelda felt her heart pound heavily. It hadn't even been a full day since she had reunited with her knight, and here they were forced to say their goodbyes yet again.

Without warning Zelda began running and jumped into the water, and made her way to Link.

“Pri-Princess!?” he yelped in surprise.

She stopped inches away and pouted at him. Realizing his mistake, Link began stammering.

“M-My apologies! Please forgive me Zelda, i-it might take some time but I promise I’ll get used to calling you by your first name… please don’t take it to heart” he shuddered, eyes closed.

All of the sudden he felt something around him, and opened his eyes in surprise to see Zelda embracing him.

“As if I’d get mad over something like that…” she muttered, not looking him in the eyes. “Have a good time, my dear knight, and please… please be safe.”

Link was slightly confused by the situation, but returned the hug. “Don’t worry Zelda, I’ll be careful, and although I’m no longer needed… I’m still the Hero of the Wilds, I’ll be fine,” he said as he grinned down on her.

Both let go of each other after a while. Zelda returned to the shore and slowly made her way home while looking back to make sure he was okay, he waved one final time as he suddenly sped away from the shoreline.

 

* * *

Link was a bit giddy inside. Part amazed that a single potion could have these effects, part excited for a new adventure and hidden treasures to find. 

_ I should see if I can find something for Zelda as thanks for her efforts… After all, this wouldn’t be possible without her or her zany experiments. _

Link dove below the surface and meandered for awhile till he spotted something sparkling with a blue hue deep below. He swam closer to see. It was some ore that he never found on the mainland before.

_ I think I could make something with this… after I get my legs back that is. _

He took his time, and enjoyed swimming freely. When he usually swam before he had to budget his energy so he wouldn’t cramp up and drown. With the magical effects of the potion, he could swim as fast as a Zora, even without the Zora armor on. He could even dive deeper and breathe under the sea without the help of an ancient item. He had the most fun doing turns, flips, and launching out of the water, flying several feet into the air. 

Link decided it was for the best to keep his hair binder in. It would be less of a hassle than, returning to normal with a rat’s nest for hair.

Soon the sun began to set.  _ I think it’s time to figure out accommodations for the night. Best to get back to the shore…  _ Link crawled up and sprawled on the warm, wet sand and dozed off…

* * *

After a few days of going up and down the coast, Link was suddenly hit with boredom. He was kind of stuck in the water till the concoction wore off.

_ I’m really missing my bed right now… I wonder what Mil-- Zelda’s doing… Dangit, I did it again... _

The next morning his prayers were answered and he awoke on the beach to find his fins went away and his legs were back to normal. It took him a few moments to get his bearings straight, as he hadn’t walked on solid ground for a few days. 

He yelped in surprise as he noticed his manly bits were out and about. Thankfully Zelda had predicted this would happen and had left him a change of clothes next to a palm tree by where they had parted ways.

He grabbed the stone he found in the depths and made his way back to home.

* * *

Zelda was waiting inside by the table. When he walked in she bolted towards him with a peck on the cheek and a hug. She followed up with an array of questions for him.

“Relax, I’ll field them, just let me get reaquainted with the Rito feather bed,” he mumbled as he collapsed on the chair Zelda pulled out for him. He was having a bit of a backlash from floating and swimming for days. 

“I found something for you though,” he said as he pulled the stone from his pouch and showed it to Zelda. 

“Oh my goodness! I know this! Its turquoise! Supposedly, it’s rare and you can only find it in waters,” she began geeking out. “Look at this, it’s so beautiful, and the marbling on it is exquisite~.”

Link turned his attention to the table, eyeing up the other bottles by the table, he knew there was more to do.

“Can we wait on the next bottle?,” he asked, “I’m exhausted from all the swimming, and I know my body is going to pay for it tomorrow...”

Truth be told, Zelda had been contemplating disposing of the potions. After what happened to Link she felt too guilty about having him try any more. However… if he still felt up to the task... 

“I suppose we could do that…or….” she paused. 

Link shuddered, pausing was never a good sign. 

“I’ve got something that can help with the muscle aches and there should be some pain relievers somewhere around here….” She began to rummage through her medicinal supplies and found a few items.

“What harm could one more little bottle do?” Link questioned sarcastically. He was expecting a rebuttal, but it only encouraged her.

“The medicine should be ready by morning, go and get some rest, my dear knight” Zelda purred delighted by his enthusiasm. 

Link groaned inwardly, regretting his poor choice of words. “I’ll take ya up on your offer, Princess. Good Knight” he punned one last time before following suit. Link barely managed to climb the stairs to the loft. Zelda heard a soft puff of the bed and she knew he was out cold.

  
“Good Night” she whispered under her breath.


	2. Chapter 2: A Hairy Situation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to have them do two rounds of potions, since I was having some trouble getting enough details for one. Enjoy the mayhem!

**Chapter 2 : A Hairy Situation**

* * *

 

After a few days of resting his body from the previous adventure, Link mustered up the courage to let Zelda know he was ready for his next trial. Zelda carefully inspected Link curiously and bit her lip lightly as she eyed him top to bottom. 

“You... really don’t have to you know? After last time I understand if you’d like to stop…” Zelda muttered, still feeling somewhat uneasy.

Link shot her a confused look.

His princess had been so eager to have him test more of her experiments not so long ago. Could it be that she still felt guilty about the previous result? Although it had been a bit of an inconvenience, it turned out to be a once in a lifetime experience. 

An experience that could one day be shared by many other Hylians and possibly even other races. The benefits from her research could be groundbreaking... if the princess was able to pinpoint exactly what caused the changes within him...

A light bulb went off in his head. 

Link broke out into a grin as he set his plan into motion. “Aww shucks princess… what happened to the smarty pants Zelda that I know and love?” he said, fully attempting to tease her. “I mean… if you feel your experiments are doomed for failure, then I guess it just won’t work… I surmise it’d be best to dispose of them immediately… “ he said as he began walking towards the potion shelf..

Needless to say, Zelda was surprised by his change in attitude, shocked even. Her surprised expression quickly turned into an angry pout 

She had worked weeks on her calculations! Her experiments… failure? How… how dare he!!

“Excuse me? I’ll have you know my experiments are a result of WEEKS of hard work! Although I’m not certain what effects each bottle will have… I can definitely guarantee that they are NOT doomed for failure!” she said with confidence.

Link smiled. “That's right, have confidence in your work milady,” he said with a big smile as he turned to the shelf with the potions, reached for an amber looking concoction, removed the lid, and downed the contents in seconds.

It took Zelda a bit to process the fact that her knight had swallowed all of the potion, she immediately ran for her research journal and quickly ran to his side.

“A little warning wouldn't hurt!” she yelled, more startled than angry. “... so… how does it taste?” Zelda asked fully concerned. She flipped through the pages in her journal,  found a new page, and wrote a new entry in.

“It’s- not bad, but not great either.” Link tried to describe the flavor. He knew all too well from experience  that some elixirs never tasted great, but they definitely got the job done. “I’ve certainly had worse, I can tell you that much.”

“I bet you have,” Zelda added, recalling her memories from before the tragedy took place.. “Now we just have to wait for the potion to make it’s magic effects known…”

“Ah… lucky me... Goddess… please help me,” he whispered to himself.

An hour later, both hero and princess kept waiting for any result to manifest itself. 

“It appears we had a dud in the midst” mumbled Link as he stretched his body fully. Sitting down for extended periods of time was not something he was used to. He’d rather be out and about. There was nothing fulfilling about sitting around. Nothing interesting to do.

Zelda twirled her golden locks around her finger, although it was rather unimportant, she remembered that it’d been awhile since she had trimmed her hair. Last time she’d done it had been weeks before the champions, her appointed knight and herself decided to engage Calamity Ganon’s forces together.

Zelda turned to Link, who had begun taking yet another nap, and stared at his own caramel locks. Link had come back from the chamber of resurrection far longer than herself, yet his hair looked the same, as if it hadn’t grown a single day. Was it an effect of the Shrine of Resurrection?

Although… she inspected his head a bit closer, and noticed that Link’s hair binder was not properly placed. It wasn’t holding Link’s hair as it usually did.  _ From the looks of it, he’s steadily getting shaggier than his normal cut? I… I hope I’m just imagining things…  _ She just chalked it up to her mind playing tricks on her.

She decided to leave the room for just a bit to gather her thoughts and perhaps lay down on their loft to brainstorm. She placed her journal back on the desk beside it. As soon as her body touched the covers she heard Link let out a surprised yelp. She peered down from the second floor. To her  surprise and astonishment, Link’s hair was nearly as long as her own, and still growing rapidly!

She quickly ran back to him. Panicked, she tried to find a set of shears and attempted to tame his hair. As soon as she cut a single lock it grew back with almost twice the length it previously was. 

“I’m so sorry Link,” Zelda said, looking a bit disappointed that she couldn’t help her knight more. “I think we’re going to have to wait this one out too. I hope to Hylia that this isn’t going to last as long as the last one.”

“Don’t worry I’m not angry or anything, just do what you can to contain it. We’ll just have to clean this up later.” Link said, giving Zelda a bit of his courage to calm her.

* * *

After a few hours the house floor was filled with Link’s caramel colored locks. Zelda finally managed to cut his hair back to his usual shoulder length style.

“I don’t mean to be picky… but don’t forget to cut it shorter underneath please” Link reminded her. “ I don’t need to pull it all back.”

“Okay, *princess*, oh wait sorry, I meant to say *Milady*” Zelda laughed jokingly.

Link laughed sarcastically, “Oh haha, very funny ‘my dear knight’” he teased.

Both blondes shared a laugh and gave each other a hug.

“I think we’re done for now, so....what to do with all this hair?”

“We could either bring it to the village and sell it, or the option would be to throw it into the ocean..” Link said as he was thinking.

“I’d rather make a few rupees than to pollute the sea.” Zelda said flatly. Being a scholar, she knows of the potential effects of environmental damage, and would rather not ruin the world she loves so much.

* * *

After a short visit into town, they returned to the house after selling all the excess hair. Surprisingly the shops paid top rupee for the material.

“This will help continue my research,” Zelda beamed. “I can buy more ingredients and do it right next time.”

“You want to do more? Whatever floats your boat, Zelda…” Link commented. “Although we should finish what we started first before we’re up to our arms in more potions.”

“Right. Now… are you feeling well enough to try another potion today?” she inquired. “This one didn’t seem to have much for backlash…”

“Ummm… sure why not. What’s the worst that could happen to me?” he replies. “ You can pick this time. The sooner we’re done with this the better.”

“Alright, hero.” she giggles. Zelda lifts a bottle from the table and hands it to Link. Again, he pulled the stopper and handed it to her. He takes a seat in his chair, and braces himself for the effect.

Nothing happened. Nothing he could feel, weird or otherwise.

“Must be another dud.” Link mumbled. “Not that I’m complaining, but I was expecting something more…”

“We’ll this is just part of experimenting,” Zelda informed him “You have trial and error. Wins and losses. Its nothing out of the ordinary for something to not happen.”

“Alrighty, then. I think two is more than enough for the day. I’m going to hit the hay. Good Night, Princess.” he excuses himself and flops on the bed upstairs.

Zelda finishes her notes, and follows Link up, taking a seat at the desk. She spends some time reviewing her notes from the latest experiments. When she got drowsy enough she joined Link in the bed and let the sleep take her.

* * *

Zelda was the first to wake up the following morning. However, something was amiss... she was rarely the first to rise. Link was always the early bird. Looking over to his side of the bed, she notices a small bulge in the blankets. Curious, she pulled the blankets off. To her amazement, it was Link sound asleep. But it didn’t look like the Link she came to know.

_ He looks to be 10 years younger... I should let him sleep. I don’t know what else this potion has changed this time…  _ Zelda thought.

Since she wasn’t much of a cook, she fixed herself some eggs and toast for breakfast. As soon as Link smelled food cooking, he rose out of bed.

He was in a daze from oversleeping, so much so that he failed to see how much smaller he had truly become. It finally dawned on him when he reached the table, he was tall enough to just see over the table in the dining room.

“What happened to me? Why am I so small? Zelda!?” asked Link, sounding like a lost and confused child. He rushed over to his weapon mounts and hopped to look into his reflection from a shield. “I look so young again… and dear Hylia what happened to my voice!?  Was this the potion’s doing? But that means…” He slowly made a gap in his pants and looked down.  _ Gods... even that too...  _ He thought, and let out a sigh.  _ This shouldn’t be too bad... I hope... _

“Okay, Link. Enough gawking at yourself.” Zelda was trying to snap some sense into him. “Why don’t you help me set the table?” She asked as she handed him a stack of plates and utensils. 

This wasn’t too easy, being 10 years younger meant he didn’t have the strength he normally had.  _ I guess I’m going to have to skip sword practice today.  _ Link thought to himself,  _ I bet my energy has been reduced too…  _ He shrugged it off and tucked into his breakfast, he couldn’t even finish his usual portion being a child.

So just for the fun of it, after Zelda helped him getting properly dressed, Link went off to the village to see how the townsfolk would react with a new child.  _ I might get lucky and get extra stuff from the market~   _ Link thought amusingly.

It took him a bit longer to reach the town square with his shorter legs. Once he got there he wandered around till he decided to go to the general store to grab some truffles for dinner that evening. The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. 

“Mister I’ll take 15 of your truffles!” Link said charmingly as possible. He put on a glowing smile that could melt anyone’s heart.

“Can you pay up kiddo?” The shopkeeper asked with a grin.  “Did your parents give you enough spending money?”

“Sure did~ Here you go mister!” Link replied as he dug out the correct change and handed it over.

“I like your enthusiasm kid, here take another three on the house. But don’t tell anyone.” he said with a wink. The shopkeeper handed Link the truffles and watched Link skip out of the store.

_ This is actually fun~ _ Link thought.  _ Maybe I should see what else I can do… _

He spent the rest of the afternoon doing kid stuff that he wouldn’t be caught dead doing normally. Climbing trees was a tiny bit easier. He got so muddy from chasing after frogs and fish in the pond downstream of the village. Even went as far as playing tag and hide-and-seek with the village children.

He returned to his house after the sun began to set, and nearly gave Zelda the fright of her life. She didn’t spare him from the lecture that followed. After having her fill of the puppy dog eyes that followed her monologue, she drew a hot bath for him to clean up.

Link hopped into the wash basin, Zelda helped him scrub the mud off of his tiny body.

“Come in a join me!” he blurted out without thinking. “The water feels so great~” he sank back into the tub with a relaxed sigh.

The innocent way he had asked shot an arrow straight through Zelda’s heart. She made her mind up, she was an adult, and he was currently just a child.

“All right, you don’t need to beg.” Zelda replied. She began to disrobe. “Um, turn around please?”

She shucked off her blue top and her pants into a pile on the ground. A moment later Zelda hopped in behind tiny Link, who was deep in relaxation.

Little Link had been beginning to get dizzy from the hot water, but his senses were jolted as she dipped in behind him. He closed his eyes and leaned back to rest his tired body against Zelda’s bosom. Her skin was soft, and slightly cold to the touch.

_ This isn’t so bad after all, _ he smiled. Link directed his attention to the sky above and watched the stars twinkle and the galaxy swirls of color.

Zelda herself could feel the stress melt off her body with the heat. Every muscle was relieved and relaxed. It didn’t take her a second thought to close her eyes and relax. Next thing she knew was it started feeling a bit cramped. She opened her eyes to find that Link was back to normal again.

“Well, this is awkward.” Link smiled sheepishly, followed by his signature head scratch. “Not the way I expected to return.”

“Oooh! It’s like minute rice! You know, that stuff the Sheikah developed to cut down cooking times. They cook the rice, dry it and reconstitute it with some hot water. It's faster than boiling a fresh batch!”

“So I’m instant rice now?” Link jests. “I think I’ve soaked enough so I’m going to get out.”

“Alright,” she said as she moves her sight to the sky to give him some privacy.

_ I’ve gotta remember this moment. _ Zelda mentally notes,  _ Not just of the potion, but rather what happened because of the potion. _

After hearing Link leaving the area, Zelda decided it was time to come out of her bath and extinguish the smoldering fire underneath. After the deed was done she headed to bed, and found Link up in the bed, sleeping soundly. She crawled in and cuddled up next to him.

“Good night, my sweet knight” she whispered to herself.

“Good night... princess...” Link said in his sleep, startling Zelda.


	3. Good Meow-ning to You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time Link transforms with cat ears and a tail. I tried to make his voice sound like Jibanyan from Yokai Watch...

  **Chapter 3: Good "Meow"-ning to You**

* * *

 

Zelda began her morning with a yawn and a quick stretch in bed. She had been the first to wake, once again. She turned and nudged the sleepy knight next to herself. After the events that unfolded last night, she couldn’t see Link the same way. The tiny version of himself had shown her a different side of him, one she otherwise couldn’t have gotten to experience. A very innocent, very sweet, and very caring Link.  

She knelt down on her knight’s side of the bed and nuzzled her nose against his.

“Shall we continue our research, sleepyhead?” she asked her half asleep knight. “C’mon let’s get to it! We’re burning daylight!”

“Alright~” he groaned as he let out a yawn and a long stretch. “But let’s get some breakfast first…”

Link hopped over Zelda’s side onto the floor, barely coherent with the world, and nearly tripping on his pants leg of his pajamas.

_ Pfft Stumbleina _ , Zelda thought jokingly. Her knight usually wasn’t so klutzy when he was fully awake and alert.  _ What would he do without me at his side? Probably be full of bruises he can’t explain without embarrassing himself.  _

She took a moment to ready herself for the day’s events. Last night’s soak did wonders for her complexion.  _ I look like I’m glowing~! I really need to do that more often.  _

Her mind flashed to when she joined Link on the tub. _ But not what I did last night. Its unbecoming of a lady like myself.  _

She shook her head to dismiss those thought, and found her blue top and black leggings neatly folded on the desk, slipped them on and made her way downstairs to the table.

“Ta-da, french toast today~” Link chimed. Cooking has always been his forte, and he loved sampling his work just as much if not more. “I also have simmered wildberries to top it off.” 

“Thanks for the food, let’s dig in,” Zelda said, helping herself to a stack of french toast, and nearly drowning it in the sticky berry syrup. “So yummy~!”she gushed after her first bite. “This has to be better than the pancakes you made awhile ago.”

Her knight blushed at her compliment. Link was easy to read when he had his guard down, an admirable trait of his that only those close to him got to see. As if on cue, he reached his hand back and scratched the back of his head. Such a modest gentleman! Another trait that was hard to come by.

Link cleaned the dishes off the table and proceed to town to wash them in the stream that flowed through the village. Zelda stayed home to arrange things again for her research.

Once Link returned he sat down in the padded chair that Zelda pulled up to the table. He went for the oddly shaped dram, opened it and slammed it down.

“That was strange…” Link commented.

“What about it was strange?” Zelda asked so she could note in her journal.

“It tasted of milk, like really rich milk.” Link expanded on his comment.

“Okay I’ll jot that down” she said as her focused on her journal. As she looked up, she slightly jumped in surprise. ”Link... you might…. wanna look in a mirror.”

“Zeldnya, what do you mean, nya?” Link purred  followed by a gasp of shock. This wasn’t how he usually spoke. He ran over to the shield that he polished earlier till it reflected just like a mirror. 

To his surprise, he had fluffy cat ears atop his head. In the same caramel tone as his hair, he felt something swinging to a rhythm on his backside. And sure enough there was a bottle brush of a tail in a matching color with a white tip. Zelda on the other hand, was trying to resist the urge to rub his kitty ears, but he looked so cute!

“Meowr~” he yelped at his reflection. “Zeldnya, this has better be worth nyait. What do you want to do about this, nya??”

“How about we test your reactions, maybe see if we augmented anything while we’re at it.” Zelda said as she was making a mental list of things to examine. Link started grooming himself like a cat would; Licking the back of his hand and rubbing everywhere. Zelda reached for the Sheikah Slate hooked to her hip to snap a few photos of him as reference, but it mostly was to giggle at down the road.

“I hope that isn’t for blackmyail later, nyan…” he spoke barely managing to keep the meows and nyans to a minimum.

Zelda let out a hearty laugh from Link’s sudden speech impediment. She goes and leads him behind the house to the apple tree by the pond.

“Alright, climb the tree and knock down all the apples.” She instructed him. “I’ll time how long it takes and make notes to your agility and nimbleness.”

“Yes mya’am.” Link replied “Here goes nyathing!” He crouches down, storing power in his laurels, releases into a jump and easily makes it to the top of the tree. Link makes quick work of the apples, gracefully knocking them off the tree to the ground below.

_ All right, the subject experienced better lateral jumps from storing power in his legs from a lowered position to the ground,  _ Zelda scribbled furiously into her journal while keeping an eye on his efforts.  _ Clears the tree in a single jump. Agility is superb, and has become quite nimble. Side effects are having a speech impediment with M’s, and N’s sounds, as far as I know at this moment.  _ Link returned to the ground and nailed his landing just like a cat.

“Zeldnya, what’s this?” He asks looking at a suspicious herb growing in the flower bed. “It smyalls so gooood~...” His tail was flicking to and fro in contentment.

“Goodness! That’s catnip!” Zelda said. “No wonder why you like it. Normal cats can’t get enough of this stuff. It can be intoxicating to some felines.” 

Her warning was a little too late. Link went ahead and bit into it and started to roll in its scent, yowling from delight. He breathed deeply to inhale the smell and reveled in it. Once he had enough, he almost looked drunk from all the catnip he consumed.

Just for the fun of it she found some cattails growing on the edge of their pond. Zelda plucked one and began to tease him with it while he tried to bat it around. She enjoyed seeing this playful side of her usually stoic knight.

“Myaaa~” he let out a adorable sigh after he returned to Zelda’s side. She helped him back into the house, and placed him in the bed… Or, at least she tried to place him, but he clung to her so tightly she couldn’t pry herself free.

“Link? I need finish my notes… let go please~” she looked down at her test subject of a knight. He seemed nearly asleep. Zelda gave up freeing herself and sat in bed with him. Link cuddled up his head into her lap like a cat. Zelda gently brushes his hair and he begins to purr softly in content, his tail slowly flicking to a steady rhythm. 

Eventually, sleep takes Link over and Zelda slowly lifts his head off of her lap and pulls a pillow under it. She snaps a few pictures of his sleeping face with cat ears for good measure. 

_ You wouldn’t think he is this stoic when he is sleeping this soundly,  _ Zelda mused.  _ I guess the catnip and all the playing exhausted him. Better to let him sleep, he deserves it for all the hard work he put in for my sake. _

Zelda goes to finish her notes, and briefly dozed off at the desk. She awoke sometime later during the afternoon and noticed it was nearly sunset.

She saw the truffles Link bought yesterday while he was in the village while he masqueraded in  his childlike form. Zelda decided to try her hand at making some cream of mushroom soup for dinner. She goes to chopping the truffles into bite sized pieces, boiled them to soften them and add body to the stock. In another skillet, she takes some goat butter and some tabantha flour and makes a roux to thicken the stew. She finishes with some fresh milk, adds a few herbs to taste, and sets it to the cooler part of the hearth to simmer for a spell.

It didn’t take long for Link to be roused by the smell of food. He rubbed his eyes and checked to see if the potion wore off. He lucked out to reach up and not to feel his fuzzy ears, but rather his normal ears. Just for good measure Link reached around to check for the tail. Nothing. But he noticed his mouth was full of hair from grooming his fur.

That all left his mind when he got a whiff of the soup Zelda managed to cook up. Intrigued, he walks downstairs.

“What’s cooking?” he asks out of curiosity taking in the wafting aroma of the truffles. “I’m starving.” 

“I attempted to make cream of mushroom soup with the truffles you bought yesterday.”Zelda replied. “I think it’s just about ready to dish out.” Link meanders over to the dutch oven sitting in the hearth, and has a taste.

“For your first time, it’s not bad.” he critiques. “It probably could use some salt and pepper and I think it would be good.”

“I think you could add them to your own bowlful when we ladle it out.” she reminds him. “Remember that my tastes differ a bit from yours.”

“I know that. But have it your way.”Link says sheepishly. He helps her take the iron pot out of the smoldering coals and brings it to the table.

“Now let’s eat.” Zelda insisted, giving Link a healthy scoop of the soup she made. “Enjoy~!”

He takes a few tastes to adjust the salt and spices, and then goes full force on shoveling it as fast as he can swallow.

“That good, huh?” Zelda says as she sits and watches him devour his meal. He takes a moment away from his food and gives her a strong nod in agreement.

Sometime later after they had their fill, Link went out to clean the dishes and Zelda washed the remnants of dinner off of the table.

For as much of a nap the two of them had during the afternoon, they were spent. Link crawled back into bed but wasn’t asleep yet, while Zelda reviewed her notes and photos. She starts to giggle with the candid photos of kitty Link.

“Eh? Whatcha giggling at?”he asked her. Link glanced over her shoulder to see the photos of his form today and he was embarrassed from what he did while under the catnips’ spell. It was unbecoming of the image he worked so hard to build. “This really isn’t going to be used as blackmail on me… right?”

“For the last time, no, it’s only for research purposes and references,” she insisted.  _ I don’t want him to really know that it’s for the memories of our days when we were young.   _

It was getting to be that time of the night again, both of them were getting drowsy, and got ready for bed.

Link conked out quickly when Zelda put the lanterns out. She smiled as he gave a sigh of relief.

“Good night Milady.” Link mumbles in his sleep. She smiles and shakes her head.  _ It really seems like his habit has yet to be broken. _

“And a good night to you sir Link.” she whispers a reply, and drifts off into slumber for the night.


	4. Too Hot For You~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit shorter then the others, but it wasn't short enough to combine ideas... Enjoy :)

**Chapter 4: Too Hot for You~**

* * *

The next few days were unremarkable. Link spent some time to finish a handful of bottles again. As Zelda remarked, this was the lightning round.

-One of them made him glow in the dark, It wasn’t their best idea to have tried that right before bedtime.

\- Another gave him an intense static charge and everything clung to him. Zelda had to watch her back to avoid getting hit with something flying towards Link.

\- One he didn’t mind so much gave him immunity to bee stings, but he had an insatiable craving for honey, and drowned all his food in it to Zelda’s disgust.

-Zelda enjoyed the time Link spent defying gravity, but he had to be kept inside; she was afraid he would float away and be lost when he came back down to earth. It was one of the few times he felt nausea in his life.

* * *

Link was beginning to get weary of the sudden changes the concoctions made to him and wear off. It was like an awful bout of internal whiplash.

He swallowed his pride, reminding himself of how Zelda lit up when she made a discovery. He reached for an amber-hued vial and emptied the contents into his mouth.

Not too long after swallowing he began to feel the effects come over him. He was starting to get accustomed to this feeling.

“Zelda... is it just me or did the house get warmer?” Link asked as he started to fan himself.

“Not that I am aware of.” she replied. “Let me check if your body temperature, you could be running a fever.” She walk to him, knelt down to him and put her forehead against his. Sure enough he was spiking a fever and it was rising.. “You’re hot!” 

“Why thank you milady.” he jokes, dizzy and becoming deluded from the sudden change in his body temperature. “I’m actually not feeling great…” he said as he almost fell head first into the ground.

Zelda knew she needed to get into some cold water and fast. She ran over to the wash tub and began filling it with cool water from the spring. Since he wasn’t in his right mind and uneasy on his feet, she helped him strip down to his briefs and helped him into the basin.

_ Its as if every time we touch he gets warmer. I need to get something to bring the fever down from the inside too, _ she thought to herself.   _ I think I have dried cold darners and hydromelons, to mask the taste,inside. I probably could make something from that.  _

She leaves Link to cool off in the water while she gets to work on some medicine.

* * *

As soon as the remedy was mixed and ready to ingest, she came out. Link was still weak from the fever, and the water was lukewarm from his residual heat.  _ Time to freshen this up. _

She helped Link out of the basin again, and sat him down on a stool next to her, still in a daze. It takes her a few moments to empty and refill the tub again, then gets Link situated in the tub and hands him the remedy to drink. He fumbles a bit with the cup, but manages to bring to to his mouth and gulp it down. She lets him have some peace and quiet while the medicine combined with the cool bath worked to calm the fever.

“I think it’s time we get you out your bath sir knight,” Zelda said to Link. She comes over to grab one of his arms for him to steady himself on her. Without warning Link swung around in front of her and plants a kiss on her lips. Zelda nearly lost her grip on her weak patient, turning scarlet from the sudden shock.

_ It’s got to be because of the fever. There is no way he would even think of doing this when he is in his right mind, right?! _ The thoughts came pouring into her mind.  _ Technically we are still master and escort, I know he is aware of that fact. Otherwise, he’d probably have laid out a few of his moves on me… That is...if I was any other girl, the fact remains that I’m not. I don’t know what he discussed with my father’s spirit while I was trapped in the castle... He feels… obligated? A responsibility? It’s hard to describe his reasons. _

* * *

Zelda dragged Link up to the loft haphazardly, gets him into dry clothes, and tucks him into the bed. She reaches for her journal on the desk, and notices Link squirming in the sheets with a look of anguish. It doesn’t last for long, she noted as his face relaxed into a peaceful look.

_ Either the medicine worked, or the potion wore off _ , She noted in her journal.  _ Maybe the fever reducer cancelled out the potion altogether? That is also a possibility. Intriguing, though, having a remedy to counteract a specific effects. _

It was getting late, Zelda decided to make some sliced apples with honey & butter. Nothing too fancy for dinner since she didn’t work up as much of an appetite as she hoped. She ate her fill and left a portion out for Link, case he woke up and was hungry.

As it became part of her nightly routine, Zelda reviewed and edited her research notes for the day. She didn’t think that it was right to take photo with the Sheikah Slate, since he appeared to be sick. After she was satisfied with her notes, she changed into her nightie and got into her side of the bed with Link, who was still fast asleep.

* * *

Sometime during the night Link woke and realized it was nighttime already. The entire day was a blur, and he had a hard time remembering what happened. He noticed that he wasn’t in the same clothes as he was this morning. The outfit he had on was still soggy from his sweat. He opted to change into a fresh set of pajamas. Link made his way down to the table.

His stomach soon reminded him that he was running on empty. Looking for a late-night snack, he sees the apples on the table with a note from Zelda:

 

_ Thanks for all of your hard work! -Zelda _

 

It made him smile, both inside and out; the apples tasted better than he could have imagined. He had his fill and made his way back up to the bed.

“Thanks for the food,”Link whispers. He reached down to give a peck on the cheek while Zelda was sound asleep. “Pleasant dreams… Zelda.” He crawled back into his side, and it didn’t take long for him to drift off again.


	5. Side Story: My, What Big Teeth You Have!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just my spin on the idea that Twilight was there to look out for his descendant. I imagined his voice to have a little twang (I hope I made it clear enough). This happened on their day away from the mayhem.

 

 

 

 

**Side Story: My, What Big Teeth You Have!**

* * *

 Link was starting to feel nostalgic, he wanted to summon forth his companion during his time from in the wild.  It was a wolf with a black overcoat and a white belly, Link knew he was a male. Just don’t ask how he managed to find out. He decided to call the wolf Midnight, because it would come in a shroud of darkness, and also it was weird when he didn’t have a name to call it by when he wanted it to return to his side.

“Zelda mind if I use the Sheikah Slate?” Link asks. “I have somebody that I’d like you to meet. I need to use the slate to summon him here.”

“Be my guest,”she says as she hands over the slate. “Might I ask who it is?”

“An old friend. I met him sometime after I woke up in the Shrine of Resurrection,” Link explained. “I found this mysterious rune appear that wasn’t added as I earned the other powers. I got curious, and tried it. He suddenly appeared in a haze of darkness. I don’t know who was more shocked when we met.” 

Zelda was interested, not only finding out there was more to the slate, but also to meet somebody Link spent time with on his journey to free her from her prison in the castle. A few swipes and buttons later Link summoned his friend.

“You never told me it was a wolf!” Zelda exclaimed. She loved animals, but the wolf caught her off guard, greeting her with several licks to the face. 

“Don’t worry, he’s harmless unless something threatens him,”he said. Midnight started barking and making noises, as if he trying to speak. Link knew the wolf was intelligent, just how much, he was unsure of. “Just don’t ask him to do dog tricks for treats, he tends to look insulted.”

Midnight’s nose rose, he caught wind of a scent. It led him to the table where the bottles of potions sat. He rose to his hind legs to grasp a bottle in his mouth. It took him a minute to pin the bottle between his front paws to even gnaw the stopper off of the top. The wolf takes the vial and ingests the potion. Moments later, there was a flash of light, followed by a puff of smoke.

“He must have smelled what was in that potion,” Link said.

“I honestly didn’t know that would happen,” Zelda said, dumbfounded from the result.

“Midnight? You okay boy?” Link called to the smoke.

“ITS LINK!” the figure in the smoke shouted.

“Yes I am Link.” Link replied. The smoke settled, and they could clearly see who was there.

It was a boy about the same age as him, he stood just shorter than Link, albeit a bit stockier frame. He also was lacking in any clothes, and frantically trying to cover up. Link went up to the wardrobe in the loft to fetch him something to wear, in his hand was the tunic the monks gave to him as a reward for finishing their trials.  _ ‘Bout as good as anything else _ , he nodded to himself in agreement.

“Link he looks like he could be your brother.” Zelda commented on the boy while he was dressing. “To be honest, he fits better into that green tunic than you do.”

The boy finally was situated and began to talk to the two of them.

“See my name is Link, that darkness ya saw, when I appeared, is called twilight.” the boy spoke. “From the impression I’ve had since roaming the lands in my beast form, I must’ve come to the future, no? Hyrule has had some growing pains since I traveled in my own time.”

“That makes sense, you’re the hero of twilight from 10,000 years prior to us,” Zelda elaborated. “ I think for simplicity, can we refer to you as Twilight?” he gave a nod to the princess.

_ That explains the strange connection I had to him… _ Link mulled over his memories on the road.  _ In reality, this was an older incarnation of myself. _

“ I was wondering what happened to the kid over ‘side of you. See I didn’t sense anything for sometime and it kinda had me worried.” Twilight spoke to Link. “Good to see things went well for y’all. When I’m in my beast form, I can’t communicate with other people. I smelled something that was promising, and sure enough - the nose knows.” He pointed to his nose.

* * *

The spent the rest of the day catching up. Later during the evening, Twilight helped Link and Zelda prepare a bonfire. Link was in the kitchen, preparing kebabs to roast over the fire.

While they settled in by the fire with their skewers cooking, Zelda leaned over to Link and whispered in his ear, “Why can’t you be that buff?”

“Hey y’know I can hear that! Even though I’m not a wolf right now, I have excellent hearing!” Twilight butted in.

“Sorry, sorry” Link said to his ancestor, giving him the smirk & head scratch he usually does. “But honestly, how are you so bulked up and I’m not?”

“Before I became the hero of my era, I was a lowly shepherd from a little place called Ordon Village.” Twilight indulged him. “When ya do as much farm work as I did growing up, ya never notice how much you bulk up.”

“Ah” Link said. “Makes more sense now.”

* * *

A few hours later the fire started to peter out, it was time to go back in the house. Zelda laid out a mattress for their guest near the guardrail of the loft. Everybody took their turns getting ready for bed, Zelda starts up some casual pillow talk.

“What was Hyrule like in your time? All I’ve ever read was from the books, and it wasn’t much,” Zelda asks Twilight.

“Hyrule was beginnin’ to expand its borders after a peaceful time. I’m sure the Twilight invasion was written down well, but I accompanied the Princess of the Twili on my journey through the tainted lands. I battled both the Usurper King 'n’ Ganondorf. It was difficult to tell Midna to not go at the end…” he trailed off. It was almost as if a wave of wanderlust washed over his face at the mention of this Midna.

“Wait, you said Ganon-dorf?” Link asked with a confused look upon his face. “All we  knew was we had to fight Calamity Ganon, and to be honest- it was a piece of cake for the Master Sword.”

“Ganondorf was the previous incarnation of the being y’all called Calamity Ganon.”Twilight expanded on his last statement. “He claimed the Triforce of Power, ‘n turned himself into the pig demon, Ganon. I ended him by thrustin’ that very blade sittin’ in your hands straight through his heart. Even at the end, he stood in defiance to his fate.”

“Triforce? You mean the Golden Power from the fables?” Zelda wondered.

“They were very real mind you, I myself was the bearer of the Triforce of Courage.”Twilight answered. “The Princess Zelda in my time was guardin’ the Triforce of Wisdom in the Tower of Hyrule Castle.”

“It makes you wonder what happened to it after your confrontation with Ganon.” Link put his two cents in. “I bet that was a closely guarded secret.”

“I’m not too sure either kid.” Twilight went on, “I went off to make sure that everybody survived back over at Ordon..” Link knew the face he made meant he didn’t want to dig into it anymore. It was as if some deep old wounds were opening up inside. It was time to steer this conversation to some other topic.

“Well what did you think of our dinner tonight?” Link asked as he started licking his chops at the mere thought of food. “I think tonight’s kebabs were delectable.”

“Agreed,” Twilight’s mood lightened. “Even though Ordon was known for the best produce in all the kingdom, there wasn’t much I could've taken with me on the road that fit into my pockets. I was limited to potions, chuchu jelly, and occasionally ate bugs to stave off the hunger.” Link shivered at the thought of eating live insects, sure he’s ingested things made from bugs; it made him squeamish thinking about them wriggling about in his mouth as he would chew through them.

“That concoction you drank was made out of various insects, monster guts, and horns.” Zelda informed Twilight as his stomach churned at the mention of it. “But to think chuchu’s have properties similar to some potions…” She jot the idea down in her journal to test out another day.

“I think it’s getting late,” Link says as he lets out a deep yawn. “Good Night.”

“Good Night.” Zelda said in reply.

“G’night,” Twilight followed suit. They pulled the cover over themselves, and drifted off.

* * *

The next morning, the bed Zelda laid out for Twilight was empty. Everything he borrowed for the day was folded up neatly on the corner of the bedding.

“I bet he had to return to his era.” Link said to Zelda while she cleaned up after their guest. “His time was up over here. We couldn’t tell him anything that would happen other wise we could risk messing up our timeline.”

“But it was nice to hear him ramble on about his perspective on the Era of Twilight.” Zelda said back to Link. “Its stuff that you never come across in the history books in the royal library.”

“Somehow, I think that isn’t the last we’ll hear from him.” Link smiled and gave a coy wink to her. “Remember we can summon him anytime we need his assistance?”

Zelda lit up at the idea, immediately going to her journal to write down things to ask next time he gets transported to their time. 


	6. Dude Looks Like a Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqNEZ_QgvI4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the gender-bender chapter. I originally took a bit more time to figure out what direction I wanted to take, it was hard to place myself in Link's shoes... While I was writing this I decided it was easier to keep Link's male pronouns to differentiate from Zelda. 
> 
> But this chapter ran longer than the previous ones. There was just so much stuff I wanted to write, but I couldn't work it in. 
> 
> Technically, this was the 5th chapter since the last story was just a side story.

 

 

 

**Chapter 5: Dude Looks Like a Lady**

* * *

 

“So Link, how exactly is it that your pouch always carries so much inside?” Zelda asked her knight curiously. She wanted to know in order to fashion herself something like it to use while gathering ingredients.

“I don’t know exactly how to explain it...”Link retorted. “The only thing I can say is that it’s bigger on the inside.”

“That isn’t the explanation I want!” Zelda snapped back at him. “It’s merely an observation you made!” She wasn’t going to settle for anything less than the truth out of her knight.

They spent part of the morning going through Link’s entire inventory. All that he  had stashed away in the tiny pouch attached to the belt on his hip. Zelda was looking at his clothing, noting where he may have used each set. Then she noticed what appeared to be a set of women’s clothing.

“Link... what is this?” Zelda asked curiously holding the garment up. “Aren’t these Gerudo clothes  _ for women _ ?”

“Not... my best moment.” Link replies dryly. He started to turn several shades of red while remembering his time in the desert, southwest of Hateno Village. “I needed a way to enter Gerudo Town and speak with Chief Riju. This was the only option available to me at the time...  after all no man was allowed inside their walls...”

“ Don’t worry, I’m not judging. In fact, they do look quite comfortable… and I simply love the color,” she mused, examining the teal colored garb.

“I think I’m going to make some lunch,”Link whispered, as his stomach let out a growl in agreement. “How about we go simple for the day and make some rice balls?”

“Sounds good,” Zelda beamed. Anything Link cooked for her was delectable. “I’ll come help.” Zelda set the outfit on the bed and followed after him. They took a few moments to assemble the rice balls. It didn’t even take the same amount of time to devour their meal.

Link turned his attention to the remaining bottles on the edge of the table. He needed to keep his nose to the grindstone to finish the task in front of him.

“Let’s go another round,”Link suddenly spoke. “We need to finish what we started.”

Zelda turned to him in surprise, smiling in delight at his bravery. “That’s the spirit!” Zelda cheered. “Lemme pick it this time.” She drew a pink heart-shaped vial and handed it over to her knight. He gulped down the concoction with ease.

“Hmm,”Link mumbled. “The taste is hard to describe, maybe flowery, or it was wild berries?” Zelda ran upstairs to grab her journal. “This really isn’t so--” 

Without any warning Link suddenly slumped into his chair, Zelda heard the noise and her heart sank. She remembered the exact sound he made. The exact same grunt from when he defended her, staring into the single eye of the possessed Guardian.

_ #@%! _ , she thought. The word that came to her mind wasn’t appropriate for a lady to say a loud.  _ Not again!  _ She bolted down the stairs to the knight’s side. Link was burning up again. After the last potion she had an inkling to fix this. 

“Link, I’ve got to run to town to buy supplies! I’ll get back as soon as I can. DO NOT MOVE” she spoke to Link, who was passed out and limp in the chair.

* * *

_ Let’s see… Yesterday I used a mixture of cold darners and hydromelons for the remedy, _ she thought, trying to remember the events from the day before.   _ I know for a fact we’re out of both. _

She made it over to the general store in minutes flat, and rushed back to the house equally as fast. Link was still asleep, but the fever had dissipated. He was roused awake from the door slamming against its frame, and took a minute to rub the sleep from his eyes.

Link rose from his chair; and Zelda nearly dropped the ingredients to the floor from the shock of his transformation.

He… had became a she. 

“Li-Link…” she stuttered from the shock. “Lo-Look!” She managed to speak while pointing to the polished shield on the weapon rack. Confused he turned to his makeshift mirror, and looked in amazement.

“Woah! I’m… I’m a WOMAN!?” Link exclaimed in surprise.

Link looked back and forward between the reflection and his new body.

First thing he did was peek under his shirt, but was almost immediately stopped by Zelda. 

“What in the world do you think you’re doing!?” Zelda exclaimed.

“Uh… Examining my new body?” Link answered innocently.

“Denied! Absolutely not!” Zelda yelled, quite flustered.

“Princess? Whats the problem? Normally 'you' would be the one trying to see what changes the potion had,” Link questioned as he tilted his head at her in confusion. 

Zelda shook her head at him. “It’s not very knightly to touch a maiden’s body,” she scolded.

“...It’s still my body… but I can tell this is clearly bothering you…” Link muttered, still somewhat confused by Zelda’s change in attitude. Link looked down, surprised to feel something heavy hanging from his chest.  _ Breasts…  _

He sighed, he took his now petite hands and ran them down to inspect his nether region, giving a surprised gasp…. His manhood was gone.

Zelda felt something inside her chest tighten. “Up the stairs with you!” she yelled somewhat annoyed. Link didn’t argue and followed his Princess’ orders. 

She had Link sit down on the loft, and placed a blindfold around his eyes. “No peeking, I’m gonna switch your clothes to make things more comfortable for your new body,” she said as she began replacing his clothes, for something more appropriate for Link’s new body.

As she undressed him she was surprised to see the size of his… “her” bosom. She looked between Link and herself. There was a feeling welling up inside of her, something she hadn’t felt in quite a long time. Jealousy rose in her as she saw Link’s female form up close. She could tell he was well endowed in the bust, a fit yet curvy silhouette, but still seemed more petite than herself.  His hands were soft to the touch, the callouses and tan lines were gone to reveal his porcelain complexion. She noticed some of the freckles, that still remained, dotting his shoulders and down across his back, giving him a sun-kissed look.

“Link… May I try some outfits on you?” Zelda asked her blindfolded knight. “I’m just curious.” She finished securing his undergarments, took his hand, and pulled him to the dresser.

The wardrobe she kept had all kinds of female clothing from the different tailors she met after the calamity. Zelda pulled out several outfits, dresses, and jewelry for him to try on. Link also tried on some of his boy clothes, as well as the Gerudo garb that still laid upon the bed.

“You look absolutely adorable,” Zelda gushed. “Even more so now.” Link blushed at the comment, confused whether he should be happy or insulted ,  while pulling his head through another dress that had Zelda handed him.

“To be frank, this outfit is a bit tight in the chest…” Link sighed looking down at the weight on his chest; the cloth pulled tight against his skin. “It always was loose when I normally wear it.”

“Well if you think about the situation you currently are in, it’s no wonder,”she replied snarkily. It was obvious to see her jealous look on her face. Link was a pretty as a boy, but as a girl, it was on a different level. If he were to walk into the local pub, all the heads would turn to get a glimpse. “This reminds me, I have some business to attend to in Gerudo Town, and you’re going to accompany me.” A mischievous grin spreads across her face, a look Link knew all too well.

“Can… Can we talk about this? We don’t know how long this will last… I don’t want to be caught outside looking like this in my male form… I wouldn’t be able to live it down,” he said, blush spreading evenly on his face.

“Don’t worry, we’re not very far,” she said with her mischievous grin still in place. They packed their bags that night to be able to leave immediately at first light. But first, a well deserved rest.

* * *

As soon as dawn broke, they saddled up and began to make their trek to the Gerudo Desert. As soon as they made it through the canyon leading to the desert, they boarded their steeds at the stable on the border, and proceeded to the sandy landscape of the desert.

“Y’ think I should change to the Gerudo outfit?” Link asked “Wouldn’t they think I’m still a boy?”

“ I somehow doubt it with those melons of yours ,” Zelda replied. “They won’t turn you away in that form.”

Again, Link was beet red from the embarrassing remark, he was hoping she would think it was from the heat rising off of the sand. He just decided to keep his blue champion’s tunic on for simplicity’s sake.

After a short rest to cool off at the Kara Kara Bazaar just up the path from Gerudo Town, they continued on. It took just a few hours to reach the gates of the forbidden city. Link was surprised that the guards didn’t take a second look at him to confirm.

_ I don’t believe it! Didn’t even bother to check! _ Link was baffled,  _ I would rather use the disguise to sneak in than to just waltz in casually as a real girl. _

They wandered up to the stairs leading to the throne room of Chief Riju.

“Ah, Link, I just forgot, “Zelda remembered “Could you procure some accommodations for the night? It gets chilly in the desert during the evening hours. I’ll take care of my business here.”

Link nodded to her, and made his way to the market stalls lining the town square. He made it over to the inn, and reserved a room with the spa plan.

_ Can’t miss this opportunity,  _ he mused in his mind. It was awkward when he did it while he was on his mission to eliminate Ganon. But it was more or less okay now with his female form. Link thought it was best to wait till Zelda returned from the palace.

* * *

Maybe an hour or so had passed from what Link guessed, Zelda had just made it back to the inn.

“Whew, what a day!” Zelda let out a deep sigh as she fanned herself with her hands. “I heard you got the spa plan too? It’s just what I needed! Let’s get changed and go get pampered~” she said with delight.. 

As they were getting ready to head to the spa Zelda noticed that Link had left with only his briefs on and had to remind him that he needed to cover up a bit more before walking to the spa. His pride took a blow from the look she gave him, she had to explain to him that he had to be more tactful in his female form. She wrapped a towel around to cover his bandaged bosom, and followed along.

They made their way over to the spa. Link spotted a hot spring and made a mad dash to it, diving head first into the steaming water. He came up and had a look of delight when he got settled in. Zelda went over to join her knight for a soak. As she entered the water, she noticed Link’s face had turned a couple more shades of red and did his best to look away from her.

“Relax, we’re both girls.” Zelda muttered to the flabbergasted knight. She leaned in close and whispered on his ear. “They’ll get suspicious, or worse, insulted.” she said, as she motioned to the Gerudo women overlooking the spa. Link let himself sink into the near-scalding water.

“It feels wonderful,” Link said a loud. “Its as if my whole body has never unwound before.” Zelda let out a giggle, because that statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Link sunk into the water to blow a few bubbles into the water to hide his embarrassment. 

They didn’t spend long in the spring, being that Zelda was getting close to passing out from overheating, and retired to their room for the night. Zelda brought an extra set of pajamas for Link to borrow, it was still a little weird seeing him as a girl and topless, but was beginning to be comfortable with the fact he was currently a woman. He noticed her discomfort and obliged, getting dressed quickly.

They both climbed into bed, and slept the night.

* * *

The next morning they awoke when the sun peered into the room. Zelda yawned, followed by a stretch. She glanced over to Link’s bedding. He was back to normal.

_ $#@%! _ , she thought as the vulgarity nearly passed her lips. Men weren’t allowed within the walls.

Link woke up and noticed the difference immediately. He was himself again, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Panicked, he looked to Zelda for help. She came prepared with the Gerudo garment.

“But I have no bust anymore,” Link said to her.

“We’ll just have to improvise then,”Zelda said while giving a solid wink. “I may have a solution to our problem~.”

The princess walked out of the inn to one of the market stalls, bought two palm fruits and came back. “We’re going to use these,”she said. “Here stuff them under your top.” Handing the fruit over to Link. He rummages them getting them into place, looking as inconspicuous as possible.

“I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts~!” He sang out loud jokingly. But Zelda wasn’t going to deal with the jokes at the moment; she went off and walloped the back of his head. Link nearly lost the makeshift bosom of fruit in the process of regaining his balance.

“Quit it,” she hissed. “You need to shut your trap or they will definitely find out.” 

“Got it...” he whispered, bringing his voice to a barely audible level.

The pair gathered their belongings they took off, exiting the room. They bid a farewell to the innkeeper, and made a beeline to the gates.

Again, they decided to stop at the Bazaar on their way home, cooling off by the oasis. Link advised to wait till sunset to get over to the canyon entrance. However Zelda wanted to make it home earlier if possible. They rested a short while and continued their journey.

Once they made it to the stables, Link & Zelda decided to spend the night. The still had the bulk of their journey back to Hateno Village ahead of them, it was best to get a fresh start in the morning. Link was known to doze off while riding horseback.  

* * *

It was nearly nightfall when they arrived back at Hateno. Link was glad he got out of Gerudo Town; there was no telling what any of the women there would do to a man like himself.

“I’m not overly hungry, mind if we skip dinner and go straight to bed?” Zelda asked. “It has been a rather long day for the both of us.”

“Not a chance, Zelda,”he said in a concerning voice. “You can’t sleep on an empty stomach.”

“You can’t do anything without a meal,” she laughs poking fun at his love of food. She hit the nail on the head with that remark. He wasn’t able to retort a comment back to her, just shot her a grin of defeat.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can imagine Zelda doing something Like this to Link:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hsAbjmNpKU


	7. Let My Love Open the Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XTKtd2KuZY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was another one I just smashed two concepts together. Enjoy~

 

 

 

**Chapter 6: Let My Love Open The Door**

* * *

 

Link quickly recovered from the fiasco in Gerudo Town. Needless to say, he wouldn’t be visiting in the near future.

Zelda saw there still was a fair amount of bottles remaining on the table and let out a big sigh.  _ We really need to finish this… _

His gender flip had not fallen into any predicted result on her notes… a shame since a gender altering potion would be extremely sought after and not to mention useful.  

“Shall we keep on going?” Zelda asked her knight who was relaxing by the hearth on his favorite chair.

Link turned his face to Zelda. He had actually been looking forward to just relaxing for the day… but he couldn't exactly bring himself to say no to her.  He let out a sigh “Let’s get it over with,” he grumbled, picking up a sapphire colored dram.

He opened it, sat back in his chair, and drank the contents. This time it barely had a taste to it, and he couldn’t place what it was.

He noticed that his legs started becoming numb, however this was nothing new for the knight, once in awhile his legs fell asleep while crossed legged, as did everybody else’s. 

“It’s looking like another dud,” he remarked as he set the dram aside.

Link attempted to rise from his seat to grab another snack from the kitchen yup get the aftertaste of the potion out of his mouth. As soon as he was nearly vertical, he lost balance and fell flat on his face.

“What was that about?” Zelda asked as she heard the thud. Her knight was in a pile on the floor.

“Uh… not to freak you out… but I’ve lost feeling in my legs, I can’t get up to walk…”Link tried to describe what was going on inside while his face was still planted on the floor. “My legs feel like limp noodles, and I think my hips gave out…”

Link managed to roll over and prop himself up. Zelda came to his side to give him some support. He leaned on her as she helped carry him up to the bed and gave him the Sheikah Slate to keep himself entertained. 

“I’ll go make some snacks, just stay put, okay?” Zelda tells her knight.

“Can you make some honey candies?”Link requested. “I’ve gotten a bad aftertaste in my mouth since drinking that potion. I think it would help.”

“I’ve actually never tried to make them before,”she said. “But I can give it a try.”

* * *

Zelda spent the afternoon making candies for her knight, working till she was satisfied with the result. When she returned to the loft, Link was sound asleep with the slate covering his eyes from the sunlight. Zelda placed the candies on the nightstand and went to the desk to write some notes down about the concoction he ingested.

* * *

It wasn’t long after that Link woke to the afternoon sun. He noticed that the feeling in his legs returned.

_ The potion must have worn off… _ he thought.  _ Only way to find out is to get up on my feet. _

Sure enough, he got up, his legs gave out for a second, but eventually reacquainted themselves with gravity. 

It was time to get back at it.

He nudged Zelda, trying to wake her up from the desk, but no response. She had probably spent all afternoon working on her research.

Maybe he could try this one solo… 

He noticed a vial poking out by Zelda’s night stand, he reached for the vial on the table and downed it without tasting it. He instantly felt his heart race, and his face was becoming hot to the touch. This was no fever.

For some reason, Zelda began looking quite attractive, irresistible even. He traced his finger across her lips… all of the sudden he wanted nothing more than to toss aside the restraints he had laid on himself, and kiss her passionately.

Zelda stirred from her sleep as she felt something touch her face.

She looked up and noticed Link looking down at her. She yawned and stretched her arms.

“Link, what’s with that goofy face?” Zelda asked suspiciously.”Wait a second… are you drunk?” 

She noticed Link’s breath was ragged and heavy, not to mention he kept eyeing her top to bottom. His face was flushed… and there was a perverse look in his face.

“Drunk? No… but feel free to come close and give me a thorough check up,” he whispered in her ear as he winked at her. 

Zelda pushed him away, startled by his complete change in personality. This was not the same Link she’d come to know.

She noticed a heart shaped bottle on the floor and gasped.

Immediately, she realized this was the love potion she had hidden away. She meant to test this potion, but only when preparations were complete!

The subject became infatuated with the first female he laid eyes upon, namely, herself. He moseyed toward Zelda, his eyes transfixed to her lips… he was looking to steal a kiss. Just one to seal the deal. One, to let the both of them run wild with passion.

“Wh-What do you think you’re doing…” Zelda muttered as she backed herself into a corner.

“Nothing~~” he trailed off in a stupor. “ I just want to say how much I lo--”

“DO NOT!” she screamed.

“Huh?” Link looked confused, but it wouldn’t stop him. “What’s wrong love?” 

“ENOUGH, DON’T SAY ANYMORE YOU DOLT!” Zelda interrupted.. She wasn’t ready to hear that from him… not like this…

_ Yes the feeling is mutual, but I am not ready, he isn’t in his right mind…  _ she panicked in her mind.  _ He would confess in a more gentlemanly way. _

While she was busy with her thoughts, Link leaned in and went straight for her lips.

Time seemed to freeze. This was wrong… and Zelda wasn’t going to have it.

“NO!” she yelled as she shoved Link away.

Link staggered backwards and hit his back against the railing. Before he even had time to recover, he got another taste of Zelda’s legendary left hook. It landed squarely on his jaw, knocking his body to the floor below like a ragdoll. 

Zelda ran downstairs and made sure he wasn't injured… which he thankfully was not. She knew she had to restrain him before he regained consciousness. She dragged his limp body back to his seat, taking no expense to bind his limbs to the chair. This wasn’t fair to either of them. She wanted to do it. Really, truly desired it. But it wasn’t Link, it was the potion that was making him act so forcefully.

Seconds turned to minutes, and before long Link began stirring in his seat.

Link regained consciousness, and by the look he gave her... still under the potion’s influence. The look he shot to Zelda melted her heart. The sad puppy eyes she couldn’t say no to, it was her weakness.

“Am I really not worth it Princess?” he asked sadly. His ego had taken a hit by her reaction.

“It’s…. it’s not like that… you’ve got it all wrong Link, you’re not in your right mind. Please understand that,” Zelda persuaded.

“Is a kiss truly so bad? I want nothing more in the world right now than to hold you close and kiss you…” Link confessed. 

Zelda bit her lip lightly, would he retain his memory? She would indulge him… just one kiss.

Humoring him, she slowly made his way to him and sat on his lap.

Both blushed furiously, only focusing in each other’s eyes. Her heart pounded heavily against her chest. She felt it could pop out at any moment.

Slowly but surely she leaned in for a kiss. Being tied, he wouldn’t be able to do much of anything. She closed her eyes and leaned closer. They could both feel each other’s ragged breaths.

They locked lips, slightly trembling at the warmth of each other’s lips, passionately kissing with fervor that had been pent up during the last century. It was blissful, heavenly to a degree. Zelda was enjoying this moment; it was what she dreamed of everyday, for an entire century she spent keeping Ganon locked away. 

To be lovers. Not as Princess and Her Knight, nor Scholar and Swordsman. She wanted nothing more than to be his bride.

The moment felt like it lasted an eternity, but both knew it had only been less than a minute.

As they came apart, Zelda felt something hot streaming down her face. “Huh?” she questioned as she reached to her face and felt something wet. 

There was tears coming down her eyes. “Why?... Why am I crying?” she asked herself as she suddenly began feeling very emotional.

She started sobbing to herself, using her hands to wipe away the tears and hide her face.

Link snapped to his senses, the potion wore off abruptly during this kiss. With restraints back on, he nearly passed out from the shock. Zelda pulled back after seeing the fright on his face.

It had been a century in the making… She  _knew_ they were meant for each other, but it wasn’t the time.

“Zelda… I-I swear,” he stammered he was mortified of his actions, “I d-d-didn’t want-t-t to.”

“It’s fine, I wanted to,” Zelda said wiping away her tears, trying to comfort her knight’s shock. “I figured it was probably best to give you what you wanted. It was my best guess to get you to snap back” She rubbed her lips dry.

“Isn’t it shameless, for a princess?” Link asked. Then he remembered Kass’ song, turning scarlet from the memory. “N-n-nevermi-i-nd.”

Zelda giggled and loosened the ropes she bound him with. He lifted her up, carrying her up to the loft, bridal style, and laid her on the bed.

“It’s nearly time for bed,” she noticed the darkness outside. “Mind if I get dressed, privately?” Link turned red from the thought, spun his heels, and went outside to get some fresh air.

He stopped over at the pond down the hillside of the house.  _ What the hell happened?  _ He chastised himself for his actions.  _ I blacked out and then the next thing I know, Zelda’s sitting on my lap, deep into a kiss. And did she really want it? Was the bard’s song true?  _

Link spent a few moments looking into his reflection in the water, trying to resolve the guilt that came over him. Shortly, he returned inside and saw Zelda standing against to guardrail with her nightie on.

It was hard for Link to sleep that night. Rarely ever did he let his thoughts bother him enough to impede his rest. But his mind was buzzing with all the what if’s and a multitude of unanswered questions. Eventually the storm quieted, and he was able to drift off.

* * *

Link woke up as soon as he heard the rooster crowed at the break of dawn. He felt like he barely slept a wink, not bothering trying to get a few more moments of rest, Link wandered downstairs to fix some breakfast.

His appetite wasn’t as it usually was.

Link still felt guilty for his actions last night, and the guilt wrenched through his gut. 

The princess was just about awake from the aroma of breakfast. She got dressed and made her way to the table. Zelda knew that something wasn’t quite right with her knight, she could tell from his face he barely slept, and the spark in his eyes wasn’t as pronounced.

“Need to get something off your chest?” She asked Link, who was picking at his food. “Wanna talk about last night?”

“I can’t remember what happened while I was under the potion’s effect,” Link said, avoiding eye contact with Zelda. “Next thing I knew, I was tied to my chair, with you deeply kissing me on my lap…” 

“I can assure you- nothing more happened that that,” Zelda reassures him. “I had a sinking suspicion that maybe a kiss is what you needed to regain your sanity. Lucky for me I guessed right.”

“But what would you have done if you guessed wrong?” Link countered. “I could have easily escaped those restraints and had my way with you.”

Zelda looked away for a moment. Although part of her wished that had happened, she was mostly sure that it was for the best nothing else happened.  She wanted to be his... and his only. She was freed from her duties as royalty, and freed from the obligation to marry another of royal lineage. She wanted to make her knight happy. Guilt and angst set into her mind.

Link was about ready to excuse himself from the table, he felt they needed some time apart to deal with what happened.

He shifted his plate and accidentally knocked a bottle off of the table. He reacted quickly to catch it, but the stopper wasn’t secured to the top, as it should have been. The mixture spilled all over his hand covering them in a sticky goo.

“Link!” Zelda shouted, she rushed over to the other side of the table. “Let me look at the damage.”

She grabbed his hand to get a closer look, and almost immediately realized she couldn’t break free of the liquid’s grip.

“Aw, @$#@.” Link blurted.

**TO BE CONTINUED~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about that cliffhanger? Phew, there's more fun to come in the next chapter~


	8. Stuck in the Middle With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DohRa9lsx0Q

**Chapter 7: Stuck in the Middle With You**

* * *

 “Aw, #$@%!” Link blurted, there was no way to hold back that profanity. Their hands were cemented together.

“Link, language!”Zelda reminded him,”We’re going to have to work together till we can break free of this.”

They helped each other with cleaning the dishes in the stream. Link heard the comments from the villagers on the way, mutter to each other how cute they looked holding hands. Zelda held the dish in the water and Link scrubbed it clean of debris. Walking through the market was a challenge. It was hard to ignore the stares and whispers of the villagers. A few times they forgot their situation and were trying to go in different directions. Their arms gave out from the strain, snapping them back together, heads colliding in the process. Zelda shot a dirty look to Link.

“Sorry, sorry…” he apologized while rubbing his head from the impact.

Enough was enough. Zelda was fed up with this. They needed to find a way to dissolve the glue and free their hands. Link lead the two of them back to the house. They tried to use a blizzard rod in hopes to break the cement. It did nothing. Fire Rod? Nothing. Acid? No luck. Scalding water? Try again! Brute Force? Not even the slightest hint of a crack. Suddenly, nature called. Link needed to make his bladder gladder.

“WHAA~?!” Zelda was embarrassed from the thought. They reached the outhouse, Zelda stood outside, her arm stretched out to meet Link’s, blushing the entire time. The good thing was that Link was ambidextrous, he fumbled with his belt for a minute, relieved himself, and made himself proper again.

They returned to the house to find Purah and Symin waiting for them. Zelda remembered that Purah was going to do some updates for the Sheikah Slate.

“Ufufu~,”the Shiekah girl smirked, staring at their hands’ embrace. “I knew you two crazy kids were close, but I never thought THAT close~”

“N-NO, it’s not what it looks-” Zelda tried to fight back. Until Link turned to her to give her a gentle kiss before she could finish her sentence, shocking the two Sheikah researchers. They took the slate for maintenance and left them in peace.

* * *

Supper was another challenge on its own. Link had the knife in his free hand to cut the veggies, while Zelda had to mind her fingers while pinning it to the cutting board. Link took over completely when they added the diced vegetables to the kettle. The two of them ended up sitting on the same side of the table to make it easier to eat their meals. There was an awkward silence between them.

Zelda drew a bath, or at least tried to with Link’s assistance. They shared the tub, only after Link was blindfolded, for both his’ and Zelda’s safety.

Bedtime was business as usual, minus the small detail that they needed help changing into their sleepwear. Link kept the blindfold on while assisting Zelda into her nightie, mostly to keep the nosebleeds to a minimum. His turn to get changed and Zelda was able to look at his scars up close, remembering that dreadful birthday.

* * *

Morning came, their hands were still glued. Zelda dragged Link out of bed, waking him up when he hit the floor. They went for a simple breakfast: eggs and toast. The afternoon was spent napping in front of the hearth, they awoke to find their hands were freed, and the remains of the cement was in pieces on the floor.

“Now since we are free, what do you say about another round?” Zelda said looking in his direction.

“I guess…”Link grumbled, his voice hesitating. _I just don’t want a repeat of last time I drank one. I don’t think I could restrain myself a second time..._

He drew a bottle from it’s resting place on the table, removed the stopper and knocked it back.

“Bleah,” he grimaced. “This definitely the worst I’ve tasted. Who knew something could be so bitter?”

“Noted~”Zelda said scribbling it down in her journal. She looked up from her notes, Link was nowhere to be found. “Link? Where are you?”

“I’m over here,” he said as he rose from his chair. Zelda didn’t get the message, she could only see that his clothes were floating.

Link became invisible. _I can clearly see myself, but Zelda can only make out my clothes? But that means if I truly want to be invisible... I’ll need to strip down to my briefs…_

Zelda soon seen the invisible figure, whom she thinks is probably Link, take their clothing off.

“This isn’t funny,” Zelda was a bit flustered. “Now how am I supposed to know its you?”

Seeing an opportunity, Link finds a spare fountain pen, making the old floorboards creak as he makes his way back to her, and scribbles a messy note on Zelda’s journal.

_I’m right in front of you._

He laid his hand on her forearm, giving her goosebumps. Zelda was terrified of anything she couldn’t see.

“Yeek!” she let out and ear piercing scream and immediately curled up into a ball. This was a first for the knight. Never had he seen his brave princess cower in fear. Link took a few steps back, the floorboards let out a creak when he moved, signaling Zelda.

“It is you.” she said getting up from the ball she was in. “Come here again, I want to touch you.”

Link obliged, and approached her again. “I’m right here,” he said, knowing his words fell on deaf ears. “There is no reason to be afraid.” He guided her hand to his cheek.

 

*Pompf!*

 

Link became visible once again, still down to his underwear, in front of his princess.

“Oh, crap...”Link regretted his decision to take his clothes off. Zelda was flustered from her knight’s topless display, out of the confusion, she landed a hook to his face yet again, and sent him flying towards the stairs. He landed with a hard thud.

“What was that for?” Link asked rubbing the aching lump on his head.

“Get dressed and talk to me when your proper!” Zelda shouted, red in the face from what she just saw, “You didn’t need to take them off!”

“Sorry, sorry...” Link mumbled an apology. _Yep, that idea was not one of my best..._ He got dressed and went to talk to Zelda.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” she talked, treating his damage from her punch.

“It was my fault, I shouldn’t have undressed while I was invisible,” Link replied, “We’re both in the wrong.”

 

They both turned their attention to the table and the bottles that remained. Simultaneously, the two of them let out a sigh,  there was still more work to do...

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm headcanon-ing that Link's dominant is left handed, but going for knight's training they forced him to go right handed. He only uses his left hand when he needs to mix it up and confuse his foe.


	9. It Ain't Easy Being Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4ZxxHbJGbY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time I did a spin on the Princess and the frog. Link doesn't speak as much, but his thoughts are loud and clear.

**Chapter 8: It Ain't Easy Being Green**

* * *

 

“Shall we?” Zelda asked Link, “There’s plenty left.”

He mumbled a few words that she couldn’t make out. He chose an emerald vial, it shone as he removed the top and drank it.

“That’s funny,”Link commented “Tastes like cucco.” Out of nowhere came a cloud of green smoke, the vial hit the floor, shattering from the impact.

“LINK!!” Zelda shouted full of worry. “LINK~!!!” She rushed over to her knight as soon as the smoke cleared. His clothes laid in a heap on the floor. “NO, LINK!” She was starting to panic. He was the only thing that survived those hundred years. She didn’t want to loose him, and be alone in an unfamiliar world.Once was enough. “No, no, no!” She collapsed onto the floor in front of Link’s clothes.

 

*Ribbit!*

 

She looked at the clothes, her eyes were red from the tears stinging her face. Something was trying to wriggle its way out of the tunic. To her surprise a frog peered out. He had a marking of the Triforce on his back, it was a dark sage, contrasting the grassy color of his form.

“Link?” she asked, confused from what she just witnessed. “Is that you Link?” Her froggy knight croaked in reply. She scooped up the frog, and placed him in a bucket of water.

Immediately, she ran to the other side of town to the Hateno Tech Lab, with Link in the bucket. Purah would know what to do about this, she’s got a fix for just about everything.

“Check it!” Purah struck a pose when Zelda came through the double doors to the Lab. “I just finished the upgrades to your Shiekah Slate!” The little Shiekah girl peered into the bucket at Zelda’s side, “Oh what’s this? A frog? What happened to Link?”

“The frog is Link,” Zelda answered. “Do you happen to have a fix to this?”

Purah picked froggy Link up to examine him. “This is strange, not to rain on your parade, but I’m afraid I’m not capable of getting your knight out of this pickle. You may have to do a little research of your own…”

“Mind if I borrow some stuff to read?” Zelda asks, as she hooks the slate back on her hip. Link was placed back into the bucket, and they made their way across town again to their home. Froggy Link was trying to escape his confinement.

“I need to find something to cure you, I don’t think this one isn’t going to just wear off like the others.” Zelda informed. “I need you to stay here so you don’t dry out.” Link croaked, as to it being rebellious, or if he understood, Zelda wasn’t quite sure.

* * *

Zelda spent the afternoon going through her texts and notes. _Nothing._ She couldn’t find so much as to a hint to cure Link. _There has to be something in these dusty old books!_

Then the craziest idea came into her head.

_What if there was something in those old fables? I’ve got nothing to lose at this point…_

Zelda dug through her things for a while before finding her old book of children’s fables. It was a gift from her father, she treasured this book so much when she was young, and it was one of the few things that survived the fall of the kingdom so long ago. She ran her finger along the index page till she found what she was looking for. _The Princess and the Frog_.

Zelda read that the maiden’s kiss released the prince from his curse. _Sounds promising, I think I’m qualified as a maiden.... do I seriously have to kiss him? I love frogs and all, but I don’t want to be full of mucus._

Zelda swallowed her pride, it was the only viable option to cure her knight. She returned to the bucket where she set Link in, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Link~!” she shouted out, “Where are you?” Zelda heard some croaking outside. She went outside to check, sure enough, there was Link making a getaway. “Not so fast!” She began to chase him.

Link wasn’t about to make this easy for her. This was going to be payback for licking a frog way back when. He darted about the property, narrowly missing Zelda’s attempts to catch him. Link decided to go into the pond, but that didn’t stop the princess. She didn’t care if she got caked in mud and Goddess knows what else; She was going to catch him, and return him to normal.

Zelda was getting exhausted from chasing him. She decided to corner him in another way: food. She went inside to cook some dinner, but left the door open for Link to come in. Thinking ahead, she drew up a warm bath.

* * *

Sure enough once she got going, there he was perched on the threshold of the door, looking up and covered in mud and mucus.

“You can’t have any.” Zelda teased. “You’re a frog now, go catch some flies or something like that.”

Link froze inside. _I’m starving, can’t I have a taste? You know I hate the thought of eating bugs,_ he thought. As if in a sad manner, he was about to turn and hop out.

Zelda took a chance, reaching out for him. Just then, Link let her catch him. _She had enough, let’s get this over with._ He sat calmly in her hands, still coated with mud.

She took a breath, steeling her nerves, and laid a kiss on Link. Just as before, there was a burst of smoke.

 

*Cough, Cough*

 

“Link?”Zelda managed to ask between the coughs. “You back to normal?” The smoke begins to clear out of the house.

“Don’t Look!” Link yells fearing another punch.

“Why?” Zelda asks looking up. She let out a blood-curdling scream and covered her eyes from the sight.

Link was completely naked, covered in mud and frog mucus.

“GET INTO THE BATH, NOW!”Zelda shouted. She threw a flurry of punches to Link, who was dodging while making a mad dash to the tub.

* * *

“It’s freezing!”Link said, as soon as he jumped in, while his teeth clattered from the temperature shock.

“It would have been warmer if you had let me catch you sooner.” Zelda snapped back. Link sinks back into the cold bath, and started sulking. “Finish cleaning yourself up and then you can eat.”

Food was all he needed to get motivated. He scrubbed off and got out of the tub.

* * *

He was salivating over the smell of food, blissfully skipping to the table. Zelda was glad that his mood was better. _A hot meal can always lift his spirits._

Link helped set the table and they dug into their meal: creamy heart soup. It was sweet & tangy, and strangely hot and cold at the same time.

“Thanks for the food,” Link said as he finished his share, smiling at Zelda. That made all the wrongs during the day, right. She wanted nothing more than to let him take her. But, Zelda knows all too well that there was something holding him back… What it was, he probably won’t ever tell her.

* * *

 

**TO BE CONTINUED~**


	10. Here it Goes Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTAAsCNK7RA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the body-swap~
> 
> I hope I didn't make this chapter too confusing.

**Chapter 9: Here it Goes Again**

* * *

 

It was a quiet night at the house, both Link and Zelda were sound asleep.

Link, sometimes received glimpses of what weren’t his memories while he slept. Sometimes it was of what appeared to be him riding on a giant crimson bird soaring above the clouds. One time was of an adventure in an unfamiliar land. Another night it was if he had the view from the ground, Link guessed it may have been the hero of twilight’s perspective, why it was so low to the ground, he couldn’t draw a conclusion to, but they were refreshing to see. When he didn’t have one of those dreams, he had flashbacks to the time he collapsed from his injuries. Most of the time he awoke in a cold sweat, and a lot of those times, he found it difficult to return to sleep, fearing that the nightmare would return.

 

Tonight was one of those nights. The nightmare fully locked him into his fears: he failed his princess a century ago. To top it off, she loved him, she wanted him. But he couldn’t bring himself to make her his own.

* * *

Morning soon came, and Link was already in the kitchen cooking to take his mind off of last night. He went a bit overboard, baking pies, cookies and cakes. He fried some crepes, made some stir fry…

“I’ll set this over there-” Link hummed to himself, he paused for just a second. “I’m out of room! Well I suppose I went overboard... Cooking is therapeutic though~”

Zelda awoke to the noise emanating from the kitchen. She ran downstairs to see what the ruckus was.

“Link!” She gasped, spooking the knight from his attention of his cooking. “You don’t expect us to eat all of that?” She points over to the table and over to the counters full of dishes. “You'll put on some weight to your skinny frame though~”

“You’ve got a point,” Link said scratching the back of his head again. “Should we take them to the market?”

“Why not?”Zelda agreed. “It’s better than letting it go to waste.”

They plate the dishes and take them over to the general store. The shopkeeper was shocked from the amount of food there was, but bought it from them for a premium.

* * *

Returning to the house, Zelda turns to her knight to ask, “Another potion today, Link?”

“I guess I should, if we are to ever finish this project of yours,” Link replied. His mood had brightened after his frenzy in the kitchen this morning. He comes to the table, reaching for another dram, opened and drank it. 

Link braced himself for the worst.

 

Nothing happened. Or at least nothing immediately. 

He shrugged it off as another dud. Zelda was a bit bummed out that it was a bust. They went on with their day, made another visit up to the Tech Lab to discuss Zelda’s findings with Purah. Took a leisurely stroll back to the house, picking up a few ingredients for dinner.

“What’s on the menu tonight chef?” Zelda joked.

“I had in mind meat and rice bowls for dinner,” Link replied. “It’s something that Impa had taught me while I spent some time at Kakariko Village.”

“Can’t wait to try it~”she beamed back to Link.

* * *

Supper came and went. Both inhaled their bowl of stir fried meat with tender white hylian rice.

This time Zelda decided to take the dishes out to the stream to wash them while Link cleaned up the rest of the table.

By the time Zelda returned back, it was nearly time to get ready for bed. They had their baths and dressed in their sleepwear, and hit the hay fairly quickly.

* * *

Morning came once again. Link was the first to rise. Something was off.

_ Why is my head so heavy? _ He thought, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  _ Those aren’t my hands.  _ He gasped. He himself was still asleep on the bed.  _ If I’m there then who am I?? _

Jumping out of the bed he went to find out with a look at a shield hanging from the weapon rack. He let out an ear piercing scream.

“I-i-i’m ZELDA?!” he shouted. This definitely wasn't his voice. He looked down, again there was two round lumps coming from his chest, and nothing down below. He was a girl again. He was in Zelda’s body.

Zelda was blissfully asleep, unaware of what had happened to her. She woke up to what seemed to be a scream from her voice.

“What’s going on~?” she asked. _That isn’t my voice! These aren’t my hands, and my hair, what is happening to me?? But if I’m Link, that means-_ “LINK!” she shouted in his voice. 

It took a second for the knight to realize Zelda was awake. Link wasn’t used to hearing his own voice. He also wasn’t used to running in a dress, forgetting to lift the hem as he went up the stairs.

“WHAT”S GOING ON WITH US??” Zelda shouted. It was probably the first time his voice was ever that loud. “What is happening?! I woke up and found myself like this..”

“Relax, We just need to find a way to reverse it right?” Link was trying to soothe the princess of her distress. “We just need to play along and keep up our usual activities. Last thing we need to do, is be turned into somebody else’s guinea pigs.”

“You’re right.”She agreed “But how am I going to pull of your morning training? I hardly know the first thing about wielding a sword.”

Link walked up and looked into his own face. “Trust in my body. My muscles should remember my form and swings, it's as easy as breathing for myself. If you need some tips I’ll watch and spot for you.” He walks over to the stack of books, finding one that he was mildly interested in and grabbed it to read while observing.

* * *

They head to the open field next to the house. Zelda grasped the hilt of the Master Sword. It felt so natural in his hand.  She took a few swings to warm up, but let the instincts take over.

Link sat over on the fencing close to the house with the book in his hand, pretending to read while paying attention to Zelda’s effort to practice. _I understand now why so many were charmed by me. Even I'm falling under the spell just sitting here watching!_

“Mind your surroundings!” Link shouted her way. “Just let let my body do its thing.”  _ Thing, good way to describe it. I’m going to have to replace a few of the saplings she struck down.  _

Link could see his arm was faltering. He got up from his spot and walked behind her.  “You need to put your back into it, otherwise you may dislocate something swinging that wildly.”

“Got it,” Zelda knew what he was getting at. She read her share of medical books, and seeing many knights in the infirmary getting joints reset from reckless training.

* * *

After having her fill of swinging the Master Sword, they went inside.

“If you usually cook, shouldn’t I make something for breakfast?” Zelda asked

Her cooking was usually questionable, at best. Rarely did her endeavors in the kitchen bear anything edible.

“I think I’ll do the cooking…” Link said, never once did he contract food poisoning from his failures while on his adventure through the wilderness; The one time he actually tried her cooking, he was ill in bed for days.

“Fair point,” she agreed. 

Zelda went back up to the loft and took a seat at the desk to write. It wasn’t going as well as she anticipated, Link’s natural handwriting was sloppy chicken scratch. It didn’t match the fancy cursive of her own writing, so she gave up trying to jot down this experiment.

_ I wonder why I swapped bodies with Link?  _ The thought ran through her mind out of nowhere. Examining the bottle showed a strand of blonde hair in the bottom. Her hair.  _ I think I found my explanation.  _

Link was still busy in the kitchen, so Zelda snuck out of the house to test out some things. 

* * *

 

Link’s legs were longer and well equipped to running, she had no problem running down to the bay. Looking down at the rocks at her feet, she tried to lift one. It was an easy task with his strength as she lifted it high over her head. 

She noticed a pressure building in her gut.  _ I guess Link hadn’t relieved himself since last night. All the excitement made me forget all about this… _

Zelda ran to the outhouse to make a pit stop. Trying to remember what she heard when their hands were glued together, she managed to make the bladder gladder without too many problems.

She wanted to grab a few things from the market, so she sauntered off to the village. Somehow she managed to put up her charade well, and most of the shopkeeper’s didn’t even seem to know it was really Zelda.  

* * *

Link was staying in the house all day.  _ Today was as good as any to clean the house up. _ The buckets of water were much heavier than he anticipated.

The swells from his chest were heavy, getting in the way when he tried to into the cleaning. His sense of balance was off, and his arms squished against the breasts while trying to reach.

_ How does she do it with these things in the way? These breasts are a pain…  _ He gave up fighting against them and went to sit at the desk. Resting his bosom on the edge, Link felt the relief from his back. He saw a book that piqued his interest, and began to read.

Not too long after settling into the book, Link noticed a wave of pain wrench through his stomach.  _ It’s nothing, I hope…  _ Deciding that he might have not gone since last night, he went to the outhouse. As soon as he dropped his drawers, the terror and fright that came over him was unimaginable, there was blood. All over the undergarment.

* * *

Zelda waltzed back inside, the look she had on his face said she had the time of her life outside. As soon as he heard his own voice again, he bolted to Zelda.

“Zelda I’M DYING!” Link shouted frantically. Usually the mere sight of blood didn’t bother the knight. But this was Zelda bleeding from the inside for no reason. He was obviously worried from the tone of his voice and the cold sweat that covered Zelda’s face, almost teary-eyed from the panic.

“You’re experiencing a normal girl thing.”Zelda tried to calm Link down. He was dumbfounded, _This was normal? How could she make this seem so easy? I can’t remember a time that she had the slightest hint of pain, even from the handful of my recovered memories._  

Zelda set Link down on his chair and gave him a lecture of the female anatomy. Most of it soared straight over his head, but he now knew this wasn’t anything to get his panties in a bunch over. She gave him a hot water bottle, and a remedy to relieve some of the discomfort.

* * *

Since Zelda was cooking in the kitchen, it was going to be a simple meal again.

_ Goddess help me…  _ Link prayed silently. 

Zelda brought a bowl of soup to Link, who was still sitting in the chair enduring the pain.

“Thanks,” he said holding it close to his chest.  _ I guess I lucked out. It smells quite good in fact.  _ The soup soothed the cramps inside, he was surprised that something like that worked so well.

“It’s what the servants made for me when it happened to me.”Zelda said. “It always comforted my aches.”

* * *

Zelda glanced at the bottles on the table. She wanted to try one while she was still Link, she wanted to know what it was like. It wasn’t going to go any further with Link out of commission in her body. He wasn’t going to be able to stop her.

The one she lifted was tinted with an amethyst hue. With relative ease, she removed the cork, and downed it.

Suddenly, like a ton of bricks, her mind went hazy. Link had an idea of what just happened, he knew the look upon his own face, and the rosy red cheeks. He smelled the contents of the bottle; it, was liquor.

 

Zelda was drunk, and in his body nonetheless.

 

*Gulp*  _ Hylia help me…  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another cliffhanger!
> 
> If you guys want some action to happen, please let me know~!


	11. I Want You to Want Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qgpewMCVjs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a word of warning, this chapter is borderline smut. If you aren't interested, just don't read it.

**Chapter 10: I Want You to Want Me**

* * *

  _Hylia, help me…_ Link thought.

 

Zelda was inebriated, in his body. This was a bad combination…

Zelda saw Link helpless in the chair where she left him. She wobbled over to him, lifting her body with ease, and slung Link over her shoulder to bring him upstairs.

“Zelda! What are you thinking?” Link tried to talk sense into her while squirming around. It was a little too late. Her mind was fogged over from the effects of the liquor.

 

They both flopped onto the bed. Zelda pinned Link by the arms and started to lay into him, still trapped in her body.

She kissed him with passionate force. Over, and over again without end. It was obvious what she wanted: him. If this was the only way to make that happen, so be it. Lifting her free hand, Zelda started to grope his breast.

The feeling was like fireworks, his stomach felt like it was full fluttering butterflies, nothing he ever felt before. So much so he started to loose his mind from the pleasure. He could feel his heart pounding out of his chest, only adding to the haze that formed into his mind. She soon noticed his reaction and started to get deeper and deeper with the kisses, adding some tongue, she just threw more fuel onto the fire.

That was his breaking point, the point of no return. He let his mental restraints go free to the wind. It was time, he was ready. He started to curl his toes, his legs squirmed from the blissful feeling. Zelda shed Link’s blue champion’s tunic off of herself, and assisted Link with her clothing.

Link noticed his own body was covered in sweat, he got a whiff of his scent; he smelled heavenly according to Zelda’s brain, She released his hair binder, it fell to frame his face, as usual it appeared shaggy and streaked with grease, but being Zelda it drove him wild with desire. Link was also drenched in sweat, but none of that mattered.

 

The fiery kisses continued, and Zelda soon started going down her body leaving traces of hot kisses trailing from the nape of her neck to her navel. The fireworks inside of Link only intensified, she was teasing him!

“Knock it off…” he managed to speak. Those words only encouraged her to go further. She reached down to her loins and was just about ready to remove the undergarment, she collapsed on top of Link out of nowhere. He snapped out of the fog that clouded his mind.

Zelda, still inside of his body, was out cold. Probably due to the alcohol. It was hard to tell how concentrated it was, but it was better off this way. The thought of her in his body as his first time was a bit much to take in. It was almost as if she was a hungry beast, and being in his body only made it more apparent.

“Zelda? You know how heavy I am…” Link talked to himself. Her grip loosened around his hands, enough to free himself, and roll his limp body to the other side of the bed. “She’ll be feeling that in the morning…”

 

Link removed what remained of her clothing off of his person. He found the nightie that she wore last night, and put it back on. Still, he hadn’t figured out that he needed to lift the hem of the skirt while going up or down. He tripped on the dress, and took a tumble down the stairs when he went to look for a bedtime snack, falling flat on his face on the way down.

 _Stupid nightgown…_ he thought as he began to rub his nose. _Why’d she wear something so cumbersome?_ Link ran his fingers through her journal in hopes to find a concoction to help with the hangover come morning. _Maybe this would work? The description was vague._

He got to work, to his surprise, all the ingredients were already in the house. When he was finished with the remedy, he bottled it, and corked it off.

 _That should do it. *yawn* Time for bed._ Link carefully made his way back up the stairs to avoid tripping again. He crawled into Zelda’s place on the bed and fell asleep.

* * *

The morning sun peered into the house rousing Link awake, he still was in the wrong body, the cramps made sure to let him know.

He made sure to get the hot water bottle against his stomach again. It was something that seemed to work well to combat the cramping in his gut. _The second day is always the worst…_

Something deep down inside really wanted her to go through with it last night. He honestly was ready for it. Yes, the circumstance was on the weird side, but that’s the story of their life.

Pushing that thought aside, he cautiously went down the stairs. Falling down once was enough for him. He noticed he was a little ripe from last night’s activities, a bath was in order before he started to prepare breakfast.

Link didn’t bother to blindfold himself, it didn’t matter anymore, he saw everything last night. But still being the gentleman he was, he didn’t do anything uncouth to her body. It wasn’t right.

* * *

Zelda awoke with a throbbing a headache, the sunlight was burning her eyes. Not realizing she was still in Link’s body she threw a blanket over her head, made her way downstairs, curling up under the stairs where it was darker.

Link finished up his bath and wrapped up, making his way back inside. The door slammed behind as he came through, he heard his voice groaning from under the stairs. Zelda was in agony, more than likely hungover.

“Ugh, for the love of Hylia, why won’t my head stop throbbing?” Zelda said in some anguish. “And why are the lights so bright?”

“You’re hungover, Zelda.”Link informed her. _I’m glad we didn’t switch back overnight. This looks like one hell of a headache. I suppose now is a good of time as any to give her the remedy._  

* * *

Link gave Zelda the elixir he made last night in hopes to calm if not to take care of the hangover. Not too long after taking in the medicine, she began to feel some sobering relief.

“What happened last night?” Zelda asked, “Did we-... We didn’t do it right??”

“No you didn’t go through with it. By the time you were getting to the good part, you passed out.” he sulked. “It was like you were another person last night, being so forceful… Not that I minded it though…”

“Thank the goddesses, it stopped,”Zelda said giving a deep sigh. “Now how do we get back to normal?”

“Good question…”Link mused. He too was at a loss.

“Maybe a maiden’s kiss?”Zelda wondered, “Like when you were turned into a frog?”

“You aren’t the maiden this time around.” he said.

“But you are,” Zelda smiled. “It didn’t work last night cause I forced myself on you. What’s the worst that could happen? We’re stuck like this for a while longer?”

That was something he wasn’t willing to face. He was tired of being a girl.

“Well here goes…”Link said as he leaned into his own face. He laid a kiss on his own lips. The both of them closed their eyes and went deeper. Somewhere along the way, they returned to their bodies, but the kiss continued.

 

Moments later, Link released himself from the kiss, and placed his forehead on hers.

“I guess it worked after all,” Link remarked. _It was good to hear my own voice again._

“Told you so,” Zelda replied and stuck out her tongue to trying to sass him.


	12. She Drives Me Crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sw54Pdh_m8

Chapter 11: She Drives Me Crazy

* * *

 

After returning to their respective bodies, Link and Zelda needed a break. A day off, a vacation. They needed to clear the air after Zelda’s venture to put the moves on Link when they were swapped. It was out of her character to even think to even start canoodling with him in her body.

Link need to cool his head. He knows this is what he’ll probably be like when they really do it. It was hard to erase those memories when he was Zelda, those feelings were still burnt into his memory.

 

“How about we take a trip to Lurelin Village?” Zelda asked, after sensing the guilty aura emanating from her knight. “We could use the time off. Do you like to fish?” Those were the words that Link needed to hear.

“Absolutely!” he exclaimed - he would go anywhere if it involved food.

“Let’s get a move on then,” she said as she smiled and started to pack their bags.

It was agreed that they weren’t going to teleport to the shrine near the Village. Rather, they were going to go by foot and take their time arriving. Horseback wasn’t ideal either since the way over there is filled with steep hills, and the monsters that remained.

 

* * *

A day and a half later they arrived at Lurelin Village, it was just about sunset.

“I’m gonna get us a room for the night,” Link said as he ran towards the inn on the coast.

 

It was a cozy hut with mats laid out with curtains hanging everywhere for privacy.  _ Better take two…  _ Link thought.  _ We need our space. And I don’t know if she’ll try to pull anything while we are staying here… _

Zelda joined him in the inn and got settled in.

“Link want to head out to the beach?”she asked to Link who was on the other side of the curtain. “If you come to Lurelin, you need to check out the coast at least. C’mon.”

Once he stripped down to his britches, Zelda had just finished changing into her bathing suit. They walked over to the water’s edge.

 

_ She looks beautiful…  _ Link thought as he laid eyes on her and her attire as she walked into the water.  _ Why can’t I just take her already? _

It was hard to enjoy swimming in the bay with all these issues floating in his head.

_ Dwelling on it isn’t going to make it go away…  _ Link thought as he smacked his cheeks to snap his mind out of it.

Just then Zelda splashed some water his way, bringing his mind out of the gutter immediately.

“Oh-ho, are you starting a fight?” Link teased. He returned fire with a few splatters of water.

“May~be?” Zelda laughed. “I got you to smile, did I?”

“If that was your intention, you have succeeded.”Link smirked. Zelda knew how to cheer him up, just needed to tap into that competitive streak of his.

 

They goofed off in the water till sundown, and noticed the sneaky snails that were scattered over the beach, marooned from the tides. They glowed with a ghastly green hue, it was a sight to behold in the water, the glow refracted and scattered under the waves.

“Sun’s gone down,” Link mused. “Time to retire Zelda.”

They got out of the water and made their way back to the inn to dry off. 

 

“What’s the plan for tomorrow, my dear knight?” Zelda asked Link, who was getting his pajamas on.

“We could walk down the coastline,” he suggested. “There is lots to explore that way.”

“You had me at explore,” Zelda beamed. She had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. 

They took to their mats and slept the night.

 

* * *

The morning sun filtered in through the curtains in the inn. Link and Zelda started their day off by making their way down the beach, nearing the outskirts of town.

“Hey I think I found something!” Link shouted to Zelda, She hurried over. “See? These are mushrooms that aren’t coming up in the compendium on the slate.”

“How interesting!” Zelda gushed. She loved the unknown, it was something that rarely ever happened. “You’ve got to try it! You’d be another perfect candidate for testing!”

“But I thought we’re on vacation…”Link said. “And when somebody goes on vacation, they leave the work behind at home.”

“But-”she could only reply.  _ He has a point. We’ve been going non-stop with the experiments for awhile now… Unless he doesn’t know… _

Link turned away from the specimen to gaze at the sunrise on the shore, that’s when Zelda grabbed a sample, and stowed it away before Link could turn back.

“Shall we?” he asked stretching out his arm let her take point.

They spent most of the morning travelling up and down the beach, stopping at points of interest, and wandered their way back to the village.

 

Link’s stomach let out a growl, “Heh, I guess it’s time for lunch,” he laughed from the sudden noise.

“Can I cook something up?” Zelda asked, “I have a recipe to try out.” 

“I guess I don’t need to do all the cooking…”Link obliged to her begrudgingly. Her cooking has improved, but it had a ways to go before it could outshine Link’s dishes.

“Great~!” Zelda smiled. “I’ll bring your share when it’s ready, but go relax, you deserve it~” She pushed Link over to the inn and scampered off to the cooking pot up the road from the inn. 

_ Heehee~ I’ll cook up his share with those new mushrooms, he won’t even know that it was them~ _ Zelda thought as she was humming to her work. _ I’ll make meat and seafood stir fry with a side of mushrooms… He probably will eat it so quickly to even realize what has happened… _

 

A few moments later, she dished up Link’s meal, and presented it to him at the inn.

 “Bon appetite,” he jokes, takes a bite and it was simple but quite good. _She’s been learning quick._ Zelda was observing him devour the meal laid out for him, but there didn’t seem to be anything happening.

 

She went back out to fix her food, and cleaned up the mess she left. Checking back in with Link resulted in nothing. Not a sign of problems.

Link went out for a short walk to stretch his legs.  _ Was he always that short? We’re the same height from what I know. Its barely noticeable, but I wonder…  _ She thought, mulling over the memories.  _ Na, I’m just imagining things again… but… I have been wrong before. _

Again they went down to relax in the warm waters at the beach in the afternoon sun. Link went ahead and caught several porgies to fix a simple meal for dinner that evening.

 

They returned to the inn bushed from the day’s activities. Link was starting to yawn once his belly was full from supper.

“Time to crash for the night I think…” he said as he let out another yawn. Link went to put on his sleepwear, but something felt different.  _ Have my clothes always been this long? Na, this shirt is old, so it’s just worn out. _

 

* * *

The morning sun stirred Zelda from her slumber, she stretched out and was going to look for Link. She looked out to the beach, not there. He was nowhere to be seen at the market on the pier, and the innkeeper said she hadn’t seen him since last night.

“That is really odd,”Zelda mumbled to herself. “Unless- the meal from yesterday-” She went over to Link’s bed to confirm her suspicions.

Link wasn’t there, but his clothes laid in a heap on the mat.  _ Not again… I really don’t want to kiss another frog! _

She then heard the tiniest of voices coming from the pile call out to her, “Zelda is that you??”

“Link?!” Zelda was shocked when she heard his voice. “Where are you?”

“I don’t know but it’s dark, I can’t see anything,” Link’s tiny voice said.

_ I think, I know where he is…  _ she thought. She lifted up his clothes, and heard a small groan come from them. After a quick frisk, there he was completely in the nude.

Link had become tiny, no bigger than a doll, but he was small enough to fit into Zelda’s hands. He curled into a ball order to cover himself up in front of Zelda.

“Awww~” Zelda gushed at his diminutive appearance, giving him small prods with her fingers. “You’re so tiny!” 

“Knock it off, that’s ticklish…” Link mumbled.

* * *

 

Seeing as it would be odd if there wasn’t an explanation for his disappearance, she notified the innkeeper that Link had to leave on an emergency last night and he left a note explaining everything. The innkeeper wasn’t bothered by it all all, just wished him the best and hoped it all worked out.

Zelda gathered both her and Link’s belongings into their packs, and bid the innkeeper farewell. She gave Link a handkerchief to wrap himself in for the time being; she helped him fashion a toga out of the material. 

“Link, I doubt you’re going to want to sit in the pack.”Zelda spoke to the miniature knight. Link nodded in agreement. “I’m not going to let you ride on my shoulder. This dress doesn’t have any pocket to fit you into… So..” She grabbed the now small Link and put him in her bosom. “I’m sorry but it’s the safest place right not.”

“That’s not the issue…” Link’s voice trailed on, barely audible to Zelda. He was turning red all over from the suggestive thought that ran through his mind. “Nevermind.”

* * *

 

Zelda took the easiest route back to Hateno Village via the Shiekah Slate. It took her a moment, and she had to ready to go. They dissolved into a blue light, and rematerialized moments later at the  Myahm Agana Shrine in the outskirts of the village.

She rushed the short distance to their home, trying to make as little conversation as possible. Once she got inside, she dropped the bags at the door, fished Link out of her bosom, and placed him on the table, handkerchief toga and all.

“Now what to do with you…”she said thinking out loud.

“Well what does your gut say?” Link squeaked out. “It’s been spot on so far.”

“I’m thinking of trying a hot bath… Like when you were turned into a child.”Zelda informed him

“Ooh the instant rice trick!”he said. 

Zelda decided to dig out a moderate sized bowl for Link’s bath. It was better than throwing tiny Link into the bathtub and risk him drowning. She prepares some water over the hearth, and within minutes, the water is hot, Link takes off his toga and jumps in for a soak.

* * *

 

He sat in the bowl for nearly an hour, Zelda’s hunch was a bust.

 

“Well now what?” Link looked up and asked.


	13. You May Be Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo9t5XK0FhA

**Chapter 12: You May Be Right**

* * *

 

Link soaked in his bath for well over an hour.

 

 _Something should have happened by now. He should have changed back already..._ Zelda was grasping at straws but she wasn’t about to give up. Link got out of the water and dried off with the handkerchief he wore.

“Zelda how good are you at sewing?” the knight asked. “You think you could make some clothes for my size?”

“I’m a little rusty, but I’ll give it my best shot,” she replied. “You know it’s been decades since I had the time to practice.”

“I’m sure it's like getting back up on the horse,” Link said as he smiled, hoping to encourage her.

 

Zelda took his measurements, found some old scraps of cloth, and got to work. In the meantime, Link hopped off of the table still wrapped up in the handkerchief.  _ I kinda want to see how it looks from this angle…  _ He thinks while wandering about the room.  _ I forget that it takes longer now that I’m small… _ He comes across a hole in the wall and walks in. He was not prepared for the creature that lived inside.

 

“Eeyah!”he shouted in fright. 

 

Zelda heard the faintest sound of his screams and looked up from her project. There was her tiny knight, running away from a rat twice his size.  _ Of course he’s going to run, he doesn’t have a weapon to protect himself…  _ She laughed at the sight. Mostly cause he’s tiny, so the rat must look like a giant beast to him. Plus it was hilarious to watch him trip over the toga wrapped around him.  _ When Link gets flustered, his klutzy side comes out. _

“Weapon… I need a weapon,” Link told himself while frantically searching. “What can I use as a weapon?” Zelda tossed a sewing needle his way, he also found a lost button that would make due for a shield. “It’s going to have to work.”

He marched right back to the rat’s nest, and Zelda could hear some grunts, screams, and squeaks coming from the wall. She knew it was over when the rat gave a particular sound, the sound when Link struck the fatal blow. He succeeded in slaying the rat.

Moments later, Link walks out, the handkerchief wrapped around his body was tattered, but he was pulling the dead rat behind him. Even through his unkempt appearance, he had a huge grin plastered over his face. For what it’s worth, Link was proud of his work. 

 

“Are those clothes done yet?” he looked up and asked.

“Just putting on the finishing touches, Link,” she smiled at her knight. “Come here, so you can try it on.” 

It took him awhile to get over to her, but he was able to try it on. Surprisingly, the tunic itself was comfortable; he knew it was some scraps of silk she used in order to make it, and it happened to be in his favorite color.

“Ta-da,” as she pulled out a tiny pair of shorts for him. Her handiwork on the bottoms weren’t as good as the stitching on the tunic, but it would serve it’s purpose.

 

Now that Link was properly clothed, he went looking into every nook and cranny for pests to kill. One, by one he slew them and drug them out of the house.

 

“You look like you’re having fun…” Zelda commented, Link was in such a great mood he was about to start skipping.

“It’s like two… no, three birds with one stone!” Link replied back with a bright goofy grin.

Zelda placed her hands on her hips, “How do you figure that?”

“Well I’ve been meaning to weed out these pests for awhile now,” Link reasons “They’ve been in our food, plus it gives me a chance to practice with something moving.”

“Right…”Zelda sighed, “Is everything training practice to you?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said with a mischievous smile. “As the saying goes: If you don’t use it, you lose it.”

 

* * *

Zelda cooked dinner since Link wasn’t able to, but he sat on her shoulder, instructing her as she was working.

“Zelda that's sugar, not salt.” Link pointed out.

“How did you know that?” She asked back.

“Taste it,” he replied. Zelda does just that, takes a pinch and sure enough, it was sugar. “Told you so.”

The good thing was that this time Zelda’s cooking did not end up a disaster, thanks to Link’s assistance.

Link being as small as he his, could barely finish a ladle full of his meal.

 

* * *

“So what other ideas do you have?” Link asked after their meal. 

“Well… Want to try the maiden’s kiss again?”Zelda asked.

“What do we have to lose?” Link replied with a shrug.

Zelda lifted him up with her hands and laid a kiss upon his head. Nothing. Again.

“Anything else?” Link asked once Zelda sat him back down onto the table.

“How about another bath?” Zelda asked, “You kind of reek of rodents.”

 

This time, Zelda had the tub while Link soaked in the bowl he used earlier that day. After some time passed, nothing happened yet again. They finished up their baths and got ready for bed. Just in case Link took off the tiny clothes Zelda made for him.

“I guess I’ll sleep on it and then we’ll see what morning brings” Link said, curling up in a ball on the bed, the pillow barely cradled his head.

“Sleep well then,”Zelda replied, giving him another gentle kiss on the forehead.

 

* * *

Sure enough, the next morning, Link returned to his normal size, and down to his birthday suit again.  _ Lucky for me, Zelda is still fast asleep, if she would have seen it, she would have thrown another fit,and another punch my way. _

 

Their day went as it normally did. Link took the time to carve a marionette to set the tiny clothes on; he had only a few gifts from Zelda and he treasured each and every one. 


	14. How Bizarre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2cMG33mWVY

**Chapter 13: How** **Bizarre**

 

* * *

 

After Link & Zelda’s attempt at a vacation had failed, it was back to the normal routine at the Hateno house once again; back to work.

Link was preparing the field for his morning training. _It’s time to mix it up today, I think I’ll put on my stealth gear, and sharpen my skills with those Shiekah weapons I’ve let sit and collect dust…_ He thought as he was carving some targets for shuriken practice, and while he was at it he made a few wood dummies to try out some short swords.

It didn’t take too long and Link was finished with the outdoor preparations, he went back inside to change his attire for this session. The stealth suit was something that he picked up on his journey while he spent some time in Kakariko Village - the home of the Shiekah Clan. It was skin-tight, a feeling that Link wasn’t quite used to with his clothes, it was ideal for hunting in the nighttime because of the way it hugged his body. The bad part was that the suit itself lacked armor, so it wasn’t great to use in hand-to-hand combat while on the field.

He just got his hair styled into the traditional bun with the vermillion hairpieces pinning it in place, the face mask and scarf were a nice touch, it probably was the idea of the tailor that ran the boutique in Kakariko.

Link warmed up with a few rounds of shuriken throws; his aim was slightly off the mark, just that they hit the target’s edge. It was starting to bum him out that he couldn’t be as proficient as the guards outside of Impa’s mansion.

Zelda had been watching his training, making observation of his work, and devising ways to improve his form and accuracy. She seen the face he made when his shuriken barely hit the targets.

“Link I think I may have something that could help you out,”Zelda shouted his way. “Wanna give it a try?”

“If it’s going to help me be more accurate with my throws, sure,”Link replied. She got off of her perch on the fencing, and headed inside. She picked a random bottle from the ones that still remained, and returned outside. Link shed his face mask for a moment to gulp down the contents of the bottle, and went back to practicing again.

 

This didn’t help his problems. In fact, he got worse… much, much worse.

 

“FORE!” Link shouted just as one of the throwing stars strayed from Link’s desired target. Zelda ducked her head down at the right moment as the projectile whizzed over just short of her head, stopping at the house’s foundation.

“What in Hylia’s name was that for?!”Zelda shouted. “If you hadn’t warned me, I’d be dead!”

*gulp* _Zelda is pissed. Furious…_ Link thought as she went back into the house for her own safety. _I think that was just a fluke, probably was going to wildly at it. Let’s just take this nice and slowly…_

He winds up for another throw, releases it and yet again the shuriken soared far away from it’s intended target.

“It’s time I stopped with the target practice. Time to move onto that short sword,” he says trying to not discourage his less than savory bout of practice.

He unsheathes the sword from its scabbard, and gets into position with the training dummy. He charges, and just before he was able to launch a smiteful strike, the strap on his sandal snaps and he tumbles down.

Zelda peered out from the window curious as to how his endeavors were going, and seen none other than her knight with his face planted in the ground once again. She rushed out to his side to assess the damages.

“Link!” She shouts, “You okay? What’s happening to you? This isn’t normal for you to be so… klutzy.”

“It’s just some stupidly bad luck today,” Link said as he removed his face from the ground. “Nothing you need to worry about, Zelda.”

“If you say so…” she said back in an unconvinced tone. “I was sure I grabbed the right bottle for the job…”

He goes for another try, and trips on his scarf. Again, he falls on his face, and the blade went soaring through the fields below.

“What if the elixir reacted with the remnants of those mushrooms you made me eat while we were on vacation?”he asked, getting up again from the fall. “Don’t think I didn’t see you pick those mystery shrooms when I told you to leave them alone.”

 _Busted…_ Zelda thought. “It’s all possible…”she spoke out loud to her knight, “You may have gotten klutzy instead of dead on accuracy like intended?”

“@$#%” Link blurted out another expletive.

“Language, please,” Zelda kindly reminded him.

“It’s just got to be the accuracy that is off, but just to be safe, I’ll use the cooking pot outside here.” Link said as he pointed to the pot sitting over the fire pit.

* * *

 

He ran back inside the house to change back to his usual attire, the blue champion’s tunic with his khaki dungarees.  

Grabbing an armful of food Link made his way back to the cooking pot sitting over the hot flames. He seen that the pot was hot and ready to be used, he tossed in the ingredients… Things were going smoothly till…. 

* **BOOOM** *

The noise shook the house and made Zelda jump from her seat at the desk upstairs. Fearing the worst happened, she went outside to check on how the meal was coming along.

Link stood right in front of the fire, his face was full of ash and his bangs stood on end thanks to the soot that clung to it.

“Zelda, I think this means I’m doomed!” he said as he looked over her way, his face had a look of shock plastered on from the incident.

“Quit being a drama king,” she sighed, “You just need to wait it out right?”

“Right,” Link answered back. He went back inside and cleaned the debris off of his face, only for his hair to frizz from the explosion earlier. _Great…_ he sighed, _just great…_

Rather than chancing another mistake to blow up in his face again, both of them went into the village in hopes of an easy meal. On the way, Link caught his toe on a loose plank on the suspension bridge, lost his balance and fell into the river below.

“Zelda HELP ME!” he shouted in distress, “I think I may have broke something…”

Zelda sighed at him, and went to the river basin to meet Link there as he floated down the current. His leg was bent in an unnatural way. It was most certainly broken. He needed medical attention right away.

“$#@#!”Link managed to let out from the searing pain from his leg. He never experienced an agonizing pain even from his memories. This wasn't a flesh wound, it's going to take some time to mend - a lot of time.

Zelda got him to shore without inflicting more pain to her vulnerable knight. Link's face was twisted in anguish as he tried to endure for his princess. It was embarrassing to let her see him in this state.

“I'm going to get Purah and Symin’s help to get you inside,” she said as she turned to town.

“Just…. my luck…”he muttered to himself. The pain blinded his sight and seized his breathing to quick pants. He began to do what he could to crawl to the house dragging his limp legs, he was a stubborn mule. “I…. don't... want… their… pity...”

Link pushed his body too far and passed out from the pain, he barely moved from where Zelda left him.

* * *

 When he came to, he was in a stretcher being carried by Symin and Zelda. Purah had cleaned the table off in order to examine him.

“We've got to set the fracture,”Purah instructed, “Zelda I need you to grab a towel, some painkillers and some liquor of some kind.”

“Sure,” she gives a hard reply, “But why do we need the liquor?”

“It helps to dull his pain while the painkillers are taking effect,” Purah informs her, “I also think we all will need a drink once this is over.”

“Got it,” she said as she went through their supplies in search of those items. There was another one of those ultra-concentrated bottles of alcohol in the pantry, and the painkillers weren't too far away.

Zelda handed him the bottle of liquor, it was a strong, dry spirit, not for the  faint of heart, but it would have to do the trick. Next was the painkillers. Link quickly washed them down with the remnants of the liquor, the pills themselves were horrendously bitter.

They gagged Link with the towel so he would have something to bite down on while they set the leg into a splint. It was the most excruciating part of correcting the break.

They gave the medicine a moment to take effect before they went to work resetting his leg.

“Alright, this is going to hurt a lot,”Zelda warned Link “Are you ready?”

Even though the pain was numbed by his intoxication, and his vision was spinning out of his control, he gave her a firm nod and braced himself for the worst.

 

“Okay, One….Two…. THREE!” she said,  Link bit down hard into the towel between his teeth, trying to stifle his screams, but it was a futile attempt, in one swift motion Symin had his leg properly aligned. He let out nearly every profanity in his vocabulary, but it was muffled from the towel.

Link's incessant cries stopped as Zelda gently placed her lips on his forehead. He forgot the pain for just that moment. Purah seized the opportunity to get his leg into a splint while he was distracted.

“You are one lucky kid, Link ,”she noted as she began to bind the brace to his leg. “This was a clean break. If you had shattered it, you would have been in even more pain than now.”

His mind was too fuzzy from the alcohol to even care, what mattered most to him was that the worst part was over.  Now he was on the mend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any ideas to share, feel free to ask - I'm all ears :)


	15. I Want to Break Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Mc-NYPHaQ

**Chapter 14: I Want to Break Free**

* * *

 “So help me Link! I will tie you down to this bed if you even think of getting up again!”

 

“It’s hard for me to stay still for this long…”

 

“I DON’T CARE, STAY PUT!”

 

Link was resting from the broken leg upstairs in the loft, and Zelda had her hands tied with his escapades. This time he tried to sneak out while Zelda was busy with a bath. Needless to say, he didn’t get far. Zelda had the foresight to take his crutches away before she went off to her bath.

She sighed, babysitting Link was draining her stamina.  

* * *

While Link was deep into a nap, she ported to Kakariko Village in hopes of getting some help at the house.

 

“Lady Impa!” Zelda said, “I need some help with Link.”

“What happened with the hero, Princess?” Impa asked.

“We were on our way to the village, and he lost his balance on the bridge.” Zelda trying to explain what happened. “Link fell into the river and broke his leg, now he is getting antsy with being stuck inside our house.”

“What can I do to help, Milady?” Impa replied.

“I need some help taking care of him,”she said.  “He tries to escape any time I take my eyes off of him for a moment.”

Impa let out a soft chuckle from the princess’s dilemma. She was adjusting to a normal life quite well.

“I’m sure my granddaughter, Paya, would be happy to help you, Princess.”Impa said, “She has a debt to repay Link since we had those bandits come through the village. I think she was still in her room upstairs…”

“Thank you, Lady Impa.” Zelda said, while giving her a deep bow and made her way to the upper floor of the mansion. Paya was sitting down writing an entry into her diary.

“P-p-princess?!” Paya shouted out of surprise. “Wh-wha-what b-b-brings you h-here?”

“I was wondering if you would like to come over to our house to help take care of Link,”Zelda smiled.

“Master Link?!” Paya exclaimed, “What happened to Master Link?”

“He broke his leg in an accident, and I just need some help taking care of him.” Zelda explained.

“O-of c-course!” Paya agreed.

Paya packed her bags and Zelda ported the two of them back to Hateno.

 

* * *

Once they arrived, Zelda led them to their home on the outskirts of the village. Link was still fast asleep on the bed.

“I’ll grab the spare mattress, and then I’ll leave you to settle in.”Zelda said.

“Okay, Milady.” Paya replied quietly.

It took a moment for Zelda to rummage through their storage for the mattress, and Paya settled under the steps. _Silly girl, she is such a mess… It’s hard to think she is one of the Shiekah, let alone the granddaughter of the matriarch…_ It was pretty obvious that Paya hasn’t quite gotten over her crush over ‘Master’ Link.

“I’m going to take care of some business at the Tech Lab,” Zelda said, “Can you handle this Paya? I won’t be too long.”

“Of course, Princess!”Paya said giving her a firm nod of understanding.

 

This was going to far more difficult than she expected.

 

Link stirred from his nap, the pain in his leg was creeping back up.

“Zelda, I need something for the pain!” Link said. His voice carried well in the empty house, nearly spooking Paya from her seat on the spare mat.

“Master Link?”she said. “Where is your medication? I’ll bring it up.”

“I’m not sure…”Link said.

Paya went through the pantry on the main floor and found a bottle of painkillers, and she grabbed a vial filled with a clear substance.

“Found them, Master Link.” she said. “Here you go, and her is something to drink with it.” She uncorked the bottle and handed it to him.

“Thanks, Paya.” Link said, “But where is Zelda? Why are you here?”

“Princess Zelda asked for some assistance while she took care of some business with Great Aunt Purah at the Tech Lab.”Paya said.

“Oh okay.” he said as he laid back down on the bed, and fell back asleep.

 

* * *

A few hours later and Zelda returned from the Lab, Link woke up from the noise of the door slamming shut.

_Huh? The pain is totally gone… I didn’t think those meds worked that well…_ He thought. _My leg feels pretty stiff and heavy to boot._ He pulled off the blankets…

“Zelda!” Link shouted. “What’s going on with my leg?”

“Uh-oh” Zelda muttered as she went upstairs. Link was standing, and the leg that was on the mend was no more, but it was petrified, cased in stone. “How did this happen?”

“I really don’t know myself.” Link said. He could live with the result, as long as his break was healed.

Zelda spotted the empty vial that was sitting on the night stand, it only took her a second to find out that it wasn’t water It was another potion he had drank with his painkillers.

Link began to shuffle across the ground, it was the first time in over a week that he had left the bed. He staggered a bit with the new deadweight of a leg. He took a seat at his chair to let Zelda examine the stony coating on his leg.

“It’s rock hard. But it’s centralized to where the break was…” she mumbled to herself. “I think I might have something to try… Paya? Can you assist me?”

“Anything for you, Princess,” Paya said as she walked over.

“Could you grab the vat of acid?”Zelda asked, “We need to try to dissolve some of the stone.”

Paya ran over to find the acid, Zelda diluted some of it in water, and poured it over the affected area. Link winced from the chemicals burning through his stony flesh. The acid was doing more harm than good.

“Hand me some milk!” Zelda said. “We need to neutralize the acid.” Paya made another mad dash to the pantry for a bottle of milk, and Zelda dumped it on the stone leg, rubbing it in just to make sure it all reacted.

“Milk abuse…” Link muttered as soon as the burning stopped, and began to sulk. He hated it when food went to waste.

“Well, would you have rather lost your leg entirely?” Zelda countered his comment. “I can arrange that, you know…”

“Point taken,” he replied, still sulking.

“Paya, would you mind staying a little longer?” she asked the Shiekah youth standing in the corner. “I think it’s going to take some time for this to wear off, but Link’s leg is stable. Would you help him get back on his feet?”

“O-o-of c-c-course, Princess.” Paya stammered.

Link sighed, he knew that Paya had a crush on him. He was guilty of reading her diary when she was outside cleaning the frog statues near the entrance to the mansion. But he knew she was a downright mess when it came to dealing with men, specially, him the Hero of Hyrule.

 

* * *

Zelda went out to do some research, and a little time to herself.

Paya had her hands full with tending to Link’s therapy. He still was having trouble getting used to a lame leg, and it was going to be awhile before he could even think of picking up his sword.

Morning practice was learning to walk again, for now.

Zelda didn’t realize how close those two were, when she was locked inside of the castle, Link helped take care of a bandit that stole Impa’s heirloom. Paya was distraught from it, and Link spent some of his time to watch over her and calm her fears.

For some reason, she started to sense some jealousy creep in when she seen Link trying to walk and falls right into Paya. She knew that is what she asked Paya to do since her bedside manner wasn’t up to par. But, she could help but feel envious of Paya.

This growing feeling of envy was eating at Zelda, she ran to her stock of potions.

_Please let this be something useful..._ she prayed silently. She downed the bottle, and passed out moments later.

* * *

 She awoke sometime during the evening. Paya was tending to her.

“M-m-master Link?” she asked. “Are you okay? You just fainted out of nowhere. I had to bring you back inside…”

 

_$#@$, not this again._


	16. A Kind of Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p_1QSUsbsM

**Chapter 15: A Kind of Magic**

* * *

 

“M-master Link?” Paya asked as she wiped the sweat off of Zelda’s forehead.

 

Zelda scanned the room, and there was her body, lying on the mattress on the floor. She had swapped bodies with Link. But he was still unconscious. She needed to keep Paya in the dark, it was time to put on her Link charade to keep Paya from getting suspicious.

“I’m fine, Paya,” Zelda said. That was a complete lie. She wasn’t fine, she was far from fine. Again, she was Link, and she had to deal with the stony cast on his leg.  _ It’s probably better for him to be able to run free, even if he was in my body again. _

“D-did y-you want t-to try t-to exer-c-cise ag-g-gain?” she stammered out. Her face was flushed from seeing Link waking up, and it was an overwhelming sight for her eyes.

“Please,” she replied, and shot her one of Link’s signature grins. It wasn’t helping the Shiekah girl to calm her nerves. Paya assisted her out of the bed.  _ Sweet Hylia, this leg is heavier than a stack of bricks. I couldn’t believe he made it that easy to move about.  _

Zelda managed just fine getting her bearings straight, and slid the lame leg as she walked across the house, following Paya out to the yard.  _ Well, Link should be awake, this isn’t the most subtle sound the stone was making as it scratched the wooden floorboards. _

 

* * *

Zelda’s guess was spot-on, moments later, Link regained consciousness again. He noticed immediately he traded one weight for another. He was Zelda again, and let out a long sigh.

_ What a pain…  _ he thought. Link got up from the floor, and it took him a bit to adjust to not having a sack of hammers for a leg. 

_ Zelda must be out with Paya again… I suppose it’s better to keep up appearances with her… Who knows how Paya will react if she found out we’ve switched. _

He glanced to the window to see how things were progressing, and Zelda was doing a better job than he was. “It’s no surprise, really, she’s as stubborn as they come...” he muttered to himself. 

Without thinking, Link was in the kitchen again, working on some lunch. Forgetting that Zelda usually had her nose in her books, or writing notes in her journal; He paused to go upstairs, and he settled into a book, giving his back some relief in the process.

How he yearned to pick up the Master Sword and train again. It had been much too long since he unsheathed the legendary blade and swung it. But Link’s options were to have sessions with Paya, or just let Zelda take care of things while he was her. He preferred the later of the two; Paya was over the top with the nervousness, and he was difficult for him to focus. 

Link sighed,  _ Yes, she is a sweet girl, but there is only so much of the drama I can tolerate. I guess I can politely excuse her from doing this.  _ He walked outside.

 

“Paya, may I have a word?” he asked, trying to sound as princess-like as he could.

“O-of course, Princess.”

“Link looks like he has improved, thanks to you.” It was weird to say his own name out loud. 

Paya blushed from the compliment.“No, thank you, Milady.” She took a deep bow.

“I think I could handle it now, I’m sure you want to return to Kakariko, Lady Impa probably misses you.”

“I-if you th-think so… I’ll g-go p-pack.” She was a nervous mess as usual, tripping on the threshold on her way into the house.

“Well, that went better than I thought.” Zelda was still standing where Paya left her in the field. “I think she really needed to go back, I don’t know how much more she could’ve taken.”

 

Link went and teleported her back to Kakariko while Zelda waited at home.

 

* * *

“Everything went well, I presume?” Impa asked, when they returned to the mansion of the elderly matriarch.

“Yes everything went swimmingly, Impa.” he said, giving her a smile in reply.

“You’re Link, aren’t you?” Impa inquired, raising a brow. “Zelda never addresses me in such an informal tone.”

“You got me, Impa,” he said giving it away with his head scratch and smirk.

“So I assume Princess Zelda is you right now? Was this another one of her potions?”

“Yes she is... she decided it was best if she stayed home, but I think it probably was. I didn’t ingest it though.”

“I’m sure she has her reasons, best to ride it out for the time being.”

“Thanks for the advice, Impa.” he said as he smiled and turned around to exit the mansion.  _ Time to get back home.  _

 

* * *

Link was back in mere moments, thanks to the shiekah slate. When he arrived back at the house, Zelda was fast asleep on the bed.

He felt that he needed to burn off some excess energy since being freed from his broken leg, but first he needed to check up on Zelda.

 

Shaking her awake, she rubbed the sleep off of Link’s face.

“How’s it going?” he asked, “Did you have a good nap?”

“Hanging in there…” Zelda said with a deep yawn. “How did it go with Lady Impa?”

“Couldn’t pull the wool over her eyes, she knew right away that it was me.”

“....Well what do we do now?” Zelda asked and Link shrugged in reply. This was getting to be a regular question that they faced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be tying up this arc in the next chapter, and then get to everybody's suggestions, I have an idea in mind to weave it together... Stay Tuned! :3c


	17. True to Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Song Title Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyt6Emkv3iY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just warning you in advance, this chapter contains lots of smut. If it isn't your thing, just wait till the next chapter once the steamy-ness has passed. ;)
> 
> With out further ado, enjoy. This was a tough one to pen.

**Chapter 16: True to Your Heart**

* * *

 

“Well what should we do now?” Zelda asked while looking deeply into her face.

“I suppose we wait…” Link replied, he turned away from seeing the look on his face. It was unsettling to see him from outside of his body.

“Well you’re more or less healed now! We should celebrate, maybe some drinks?” Zelda gave him a mischievous smile as he looked at the stony boot that covered his leg. Mending, sure. Healed, definitely not.

“Not a chance! You definitely are not drinking a drop of alcohol tonight! Remember the last time this happened? We almost did the deed and you wound up with a bad hangover.”

Zelda started to do his usual sulky face when he retorted, “I wouldn’t have minded though…” she muttered.

That remark pierced his heart like an arrow. She knew where to hit him - right in the feels.

“Fine. We’ll celebrate, but you have to take us home, that means no drinking.”

The two of them decided to visit the bar over in Gerudo Town. Zelda used Link’s Gerudo vai outfit in order to sneak in. Riju was kind enough to grant permission to have one of their famous drinks - The Noble Pursuit.

 

* * *

Link had barely half of his glass and was starting to feel buzzed from the drink.  _ Of course I’m drunk, Zelda’s got a worse tolerance than me!  _

He took another sip of the drink, glancing over towards Zelda, and he nearly choked from the sight. Sure enough, she didn’t listen to his warning, as she also had a Noble Pursuit in hand.  _ She’ll be feeling that in the morning… _

 

Rather than spending the night again in the Hotel Oasis in town, they ported back to Hateno. Zelda gave Link a piggyback ride to the house, since he his knees gave out when they re-materialized.

“Zelda?” Link asked to break the silence since they returned. 

“What? I’m not drunk… Well not yet at least…”

“No that’s not what I was going to ask, but did you want to try the Maiden’s Kiss again?”

She shrugged, “What do we have to lose? We’re both going to have hangovers come morning.”

She leaned in and Link placed a kiss on his face. Yet again, there was a fervent passion behind the kiss, Zelda embraced him in a tight hug and Link responded by wrapping her legs around his scrawny body as they tried to make it to the bed.

“We haven’t changed back yet? You still want to go further?” Link asked as he pulled away for a breath.

“I don’t care, at this point, I just don’t want to fail a second time.” 

They continued as soon as they settled themselves onto the bed. Zelda didn’t need to pin Link’s arms above him since he himself was tipsy. The liquid courage seemed to be the best option to loosen his mental restraints, morals and senses in order to go wild, free of guilt. 

They began to disrobe, and discarded their clothes into a heap near the bed, leaving their undergarments on.

Zelda began to get hands on with him as she peppered her body with fiery kisses, her eyes were ravenous for the pleasure. Link let out soft whimpers as the kisses trailed from the lips down to the navel and back again. The fireworks of desire list up inside him, and it was starting to feel some wetness between his legs. Link took a quick glance at his body between the waves of bliss. His little friend was trying to stand at attention, but was bound by his khaki slacks, in a noticeable bulge.  _ Traitor… _

He reached up to his hair and released it from the binder, while Zelda took it a step further, one hand began to massage her ample bosom, and the other made it down to her panties. Link’s mind flashed white for a moment from the intense pleasure that washed over, healing his insecurities. It was her body after all, and of course she knew all the right buttons to push to get Link to cry out in bliss.

“Just do it already…” he hissed between the fireworks that lit up her entire body. Zelda continued as she teased off her panties and traced his rough hands to another button to push. She just barely touched it and Link let out another pleasing moan, his mind was slowly spinning out of his control. On instinct, he wrapped her arms around his neck.

Link started to go weak in the knees and his toes began to curl. She took it as a sign to release his little friend from its confinement.

“A-are you sure you want this?” he asked again.

“Yes. I want you- I want to have a family with you... I have  _ loved _ you for so many... many years. I wouldn't want to have it any other way.” She said as she returned to lay a kiss before she eased inside her womanhood. 

“I have loved you since we first laid eyes on that fateful day,” Link said as he winced from the tenderness of the pressure suddenly stretching everything as his little guy glided in. He remembered Zelda's lecture on female anatomy, some pain was to be expected. 

She lifted up after seeing the pained look on her face. “Do you want me to stop? It looks like I'm hurting you.” 

“N-no, I can handle a little pain… keep going,” he wheezed.

Zelda obliged and began to rock his body back and forth, thrusting in and out. As soon as she nailed her sweet spot, his mind was went completely white, and nails madly raking against his own neck, every inch was electrified from the euphoria. Link immediately forgot any and all pain he was having. This, was the grand finale of the fireworks inside her body.

Again, and again, with every stroke another round burst inside. It wasn't going to be long till he got his release. Zelda was huffing with each push and pull of her hips, Link could see she was close to climaxing as well.

As the pleasure peaked, the moaning intensified as the muttered their names. Zelda began to pant as soon as Link felt something warm filling up the cavity inside her body. The two lovers collapsed from fatigue. Zelda pulled out his member as it deflated inside, and rested his head on her bosom. They were profusely sweating, but that didn't matter, they were one and she was finally his.

After a few moments of resting in the stillness of the night, Link ruffled his hair on his head and asked.“So... Do you want to make it official and get married?”

“Yes... I would like that.” Zelda replied with a glowing smile.

 

* * *

Morning came and Zelda awoke to find she had returned to her body. Link was fast asleep on top of her, and the two of them were still in the nude.

She gently pushed him to the side and wrapped up with her robe. After last night she needed a bath to freshen up and reflect on last night. She felt dirty from what she remembered last night.

_ Hylia help me… _ she thought,  _ I'm about to have my deepest wish granted and marry the man I have loved for so long. I'm going to be bearing his child… I am going to be a mother in a few months… _

“So what is waiting for me around the riverbend?” she spoke out loud to herself. “Is this the smoothest path for me? Or is it one full of strife and pain? What a silly question, Link was going to be by my side, and we can face those burdens together...”

 

* * *

After she finished her bath she went to see if Link was awake. He was still peacefully asleep.

“He did wonderfully last night. He more than earned some rest…” she told herself, letting out a small giggle as she remembered.

Zelda made her way to the kitchen to make a quick breakfast, and went to add another entry to her journal from last night’s canoodling. After she finished jotting her thoughts, she went to check if Link was still asleep, and sure enough there he was.

“C’mon Link wake up!” She went to shake the sleeping knight to rouse him awake. It was no use, he wasn’t coming to. 

“This isn’t funny Link! WAKE UP!” As a last resort, she jumped up on him and started to slap his cheek. Nothing, not even the slightest hint of stirring.

 

“Link!”


	18. Once upon a Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Song Title Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXbHShUnwxY

**Chapter 17: Once upon a Dream**

* * *

 

  _...ink…_

 

He heard a voice ringing out in his mind.

 

_...Link…._

 

It slowly was beginning to get louder and clearer till-

 

“LINK!”

 

He bolted straight up in his bed, and took a look at his surroundings. He was back in the castle, back in it’s pristine state before they left for their trip to Mt Lanaryu, back before the Calamity. Zelda was at his bedside in the Knight’s Barracks, ready to go outside in her adventuring gear.

 

“Sheesh, You sleep like the dead when you’re in a safe place…” she sighed. “I was starting to get worried about you when you didn’t show up at my chambers this morning. Remember? You were going to help me with my research, since you were off duty for the day.”

He looked at her and let out a yawn with a long stretch. Last thing he remembered was when he made love to Zelda and they fell asleep from exhaustion. He didn’t remember if he did wake up or not. _Am I dead? Somebody pinch me..._ He did so, and felt the pain, it was real, he was real and alive.

Zelda placed a stack of clothes on his lap and turned on her heel to give him a moment to freshen up.

Link hopped out of his bed and did a few more stretches to loosen up his stiffened shoulders. _What was I doing yesterday? I can’t seem to remember…_ He removed his pajamas and placed them in his laundry hamper. Zelda made sure to have his champion’s tunic cleaned for today. He got dressed and made his way to her chambers. 

* * *

 

Zelda was sitting at her desk with her nose deep into a book. There was a set of vials sitting next to her. _That looks like what she’ll be testing out on me…_ he thought as he let out a sigh. Link steeled his nerves in preparation of what was to come.

“Ah Link! Shall we?” Link pulled up a chair to the desk and sat next to Zelda as she handed him a bottle. “ I want you to try this one out.”

“Alright, Princess. Cheers.” He knocked back the drink and slumped into his seat.

“Well how do you feel?”

“Honestly, princess... I feel horrible. I wanted to sleep all day. My body aches. I’m starving, like seriously starving. This potion makes me want to puke. But I’m still starving. Your room is so stuffy. Why are you cooped up on here? You seriously need a bath, you reek. And what are you-”

Link stopped in his tracks. Immediately, he slammed his hands over his mouth, sweating from the crap that he just spewed from his mouth in front of the Princess nonetheless.

“O~kay…”Zelda said as she saw the color drain from his face. It was the first time she heard this many words from her knight’s mouth.

He quickly got up and sped to the door, and locked himself in the barracks for the remainder of the day, fearing that anything else might escape from his lips and taint his image.

* * *

Zelda came down to the barracks after hearing that Link holed himself in there all day. She ran over to the kitchen to grab a tray of food. _I doubt he’s eaten anything today... But maybe this is my chance to get to know my protector a little bit better, even just the slightest chance I’ll take._

She arrived at his door, and knocked, “It’s me, mind if I come in?”

Suddenly, she heard some shuffling and crashing of things, and possibly something that sounded like a few profanities that were let loose in the process. 

“Alright, Milady. You can come in.”

 

She opened the door. It was obvious that he quickly cleaned his quarters, there was a heaped over hamper, and a pile of junk surrounding it. His room smelled of wet dog and sweat. It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t smell like a basket of Silent Princesses.It looked like he was going to need a fair amount of elbow grease and spit shine to make his room spotless. But that was typical of Link, controlled chaos.

Her knight was sitting on his bed, curled up into a ball and his head was buried in his knees.

“Link? Do you need to get something off of your chest? What burdens are so terrible that you feel that you need to carry them on your shoulders? Is it because of the Master Sword? Why the sullen silence?”

“I-it’s hard to say… It’s been hard to keep up the image of what the citizens think of me. It seems to be easy enough to stay silent, and let them project their ideals and expectations on to me, rather than just being my own person… The Master Sword, it doesn’t speak directly to me, but sometimes I get glimpses of what aren’t my own memories…”

 

Her interest was piqued, “Wait... unknown memories? What have you seen?”   

“If I’d take a guess, it probably was the previous wielders of the sword… One night I was soaring on top of this magnificent crimson bird. Sometimes I was a beast, and the land was covered in shadows. Another time I was a child setting sail on a boat across a vast ocean. There was this time I was in a world that wasn’t Hyrule, but everything seemed vaguely familiar…” he trailed off.

“And?” she asked, trying to egg on her knight to continue.

“There was a man, a Gerudo, if I had to guess. Every dream I recognized him as Ganondorf. We had an epic sword fight, just one-on-one with no distractions, sometimes he would transform into a beastly swine, but all of the dreams ended soon after I plunged the blade through his heart…”

“Ganon...dorf? The traitorous King of the Gerudo from millennia ago? Wow… this is a lot to take in…”

“That’s not everything. I’ve been seeing things that feel too real. Its so vivid it was starting to make me question is any of this is real or not…”

“Go on...”

“I awoke in this contraption and find out a century has passed since I was put to sleep. I couldn’t remember anything save for my name. My mission was to rescue you from imprisonment inside this castle… I succeeded and apparently we’re living a simple life in a quaint village and…” he paused, and started to blush from what happened.

“Well, don’t leave me hanging, out with it!”

“W-we’re engaged to be married…You are with child - my child to be precise.” he said as his blush deepened, he was mortified from what just spilled from his mouth.

“Well, well, well… My knight grows a backbone in our future it seems...” she sneers.

“You’re not taken back from the premonition?”

“Not at all, but I wouldn’t think our future is set in stone though… Things could change, or we’re destined to follow that path that is set out for us. Only Hylia really knows what will happen to us…”

Zelda got up and left Link to devour his meal in solitude. He told her everything she wanted to know.

Link was exhausted from the excessive strain on his vocal chords. It’s been ages since he spoke that much. He let out a deep sigh and cleaned his plate.

 

It was getting late so he ran to wash up and took some time to groom himself, Link got dressed for bed, crawled in and let him be taken by sleep once again…

* * *

 

Back at the house, Zelda was starting to freak out from Link’s condition. No matter what she tried, he didn’t react. She checked to make sure he was breathing, which Thank Hylia, he was.

“Not dead, I suppose that is good news? But what would’ve made him go into such a deep slumber? That mushroom dish maybe? A reaction from me drinking the elixir? Who knows… Link if you can hear me, I _need_ you- our child _needs_ you… Please come back, my dear knight.”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what'd you guys think? 
> 
> Should he wake up in the real world, or continue to recount his lost memories?
> 
> If he was to wake, should it be by Zelda's hand or his own?
> 
> P.S. I have added links (no pun intended) to all the chapter's titles, please give them a listen when you get the chance~ :3c


	19. Glory Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQpW9XRiyM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ran a bit short... its a sort of prequel to the wedding and the baby sometime later...

**Chapter 18: Glory Days**

* * *

 

 

Zelda was getting tired of waiting for her knight to regain consciousness, so she ran off to find her belongings. After digging around, she found something promising - Impa’s smelling salts. Guaranteed to cure what ails you- in Link’s case, his slumber.

“I’m sorry Link, but this is for your own good. It’s going to burn a bit…” she said as she hung the pouch containing the salts near his nose.

 

His eyes snapped open wide from the sudden burning sensation inside his nasal cavity. He rose up and looked around. Just to make sure he pinched his cheek, the pain told him that he wasn’t in a dream anymore. He was awake and alert.

“Zelda… How long was I out?”

“It’s been nearly three days…”she replied. Her stomach was starting to revolt from her breakfast, and she ran outside as she retched. “I-i think I’m pregnant.” She smiled as she wiped her lips on the back of her hand.

“I-i-i’m going to be a father?” Link said as his eyes opened wide from the surprise. He lifted the blankets off of himself to also find that his stony cast crumbled, leaving a smooth yet healed leg.  _ More good news!  _ He ran downstairs to meet her, he laid a kiss on her lips in gratification. “Do you think I’ll do a decent job rearing it?”

“I think you will be wonderful. What do you think? A boy or a girl?”

“Either would be fine with me,” he was over the moon at this point. Things were starting to look up for them.

“You think we should get married before I start showing? I’d rather not waddle in a dress and heels…”

“Whatever you think is appropriate,  _ darling _ ,” Link purred back to her. The pet name came out of nowhere, and Zelda gasped from the informal tone of it.

_ Darling… I like the sound of that… _ she thought as she began to glow inside. 

“I’m going to visit Tarry Town and make preparations then.” Link said as he thumbed through the travel gates registered on the slate, found the nearest one to the small town and de-materialized into streams of blue energy.

 

* * *

As he reappeared, he was on the cliff side in the Akala region of the kingdom, and Tarry Town was near the foothills, situated on an outcrop of land in the middle of Lake Akala. 

Link lept off of the cliffs and pulled out his paraglider and soared over to the quaint town, and slowly made his descent as he approached.

After nailing his landing, he went to find Karpson, the elderly Zoran priest. He was interested in consecrating marriages between happy couples.

“Karpson! I’ve got a personal request for you,” Link said as he walked into the Inn that the Zora ran in his retirement.

“Ah, Link! What brings out to this part of the world?”

“Zelda and I are planning on tying the knot, and I was wondering if you would like to like to be the one to read the rites?”

“You and the Princess... It’s about time. Finally grew a backbone, eh? I presume that you want to hold the ceremony here in Tarry Town?”

“We want to have our wedding with in the next few months… Zelda is expecting…”

“Oh-ho! You’ve been busy. Glad to hear that the Princess is adjusting to a normal life again.”

The two spent the rest of the afternoon to hammer out the details of the wedding and the reception after the service. Link & Zelda’s attire would be made by Rhondson, the best tailor that either of them knew of.

 

* * *

He soon returned home, and Zelda wasn’t faring the best. She looked wrung out from the vomiting and exhaustion that comes with a pregnancy.

“Zelda, how has your day been? Everything okay?”

“I’m just peachy...ugh…I really hope that this isn’t going to last till the baby comes…”

“I read that it differs from woman to woman, and even from child to child.”

“That’s a first, you - reading…”

“I think we’re going to put off the experiments on me till your stable again. I don’t want you to worry about me and tending to our growing baby.”

“You’ve got a point there Link...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what should be baby be a boy or a girl?
> 
> Edit: I intend to make the next chapter much longer, so it's going to take me a bit longer to hammer it out - Stay Tuned!


	20. Never Tear Us Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen to the Title Song Here:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyZU4iNRdsM

**Chapter 19: Never Tear Us Apart**

* * *

 

 

It had been nearly a month since Link went to Tarry Town to discuss the details of their marriage. Their wedding day loomed just over the horizon. In a few short days, they would be husband and wife.

“I suppose it's getting to be that time… are you ready?” Link spoke as he looked at the almanac.

“I have been ready for decades, waiting for you to catch up, my dear knight,” Zelda replied and followed with an endearing peck to his cheek. “The real question is: are you yourself ready?”

“That's for me to know and for you to find out,”he teased, but his blue eyes spoke volumes more than his words alone- he was nervous and afraid of what his future had in store for him. But he decided to change the subject, “We need to get to our venue before our guests arrive, let's get going to Akala.”

“Right, I’ll pack the bags if you would go and get the horses. We can then be on our way.”

Link nodded and left to fetch the horses from the stables. Zelda dug out the saddle bags and began to pack the necessities for their journey - clothing, rations, medical supplies and a few bottles of her potions- just for kicks.

She just finished getting packed as she heard the whinny of the horses. Link was back, it was time to hit the road. Time to start the next chapter of their lives- together. Sure, they could have taken the easy route to Tarry Town, but they wanted to go on foot. It would give them some time to comfort each other and steel their nerves for their happy day.

 

* * *

A few days later, they arrived at the foothills of Akala. The region was in a perpetual autumn season. It was a sight to behold, vibrant hues of reds, yellows, orange dotted the landscape as far as the eyes could see. The weather was the most unpredictable in all of Hyrule, and there would be thunderstorms rolling across the area. But, when the weather was clear, without a cloud in the sky, it was a gorgeous landscape to take in.

They left their horses at the southern stable, and hoofed it the rest of the way to the village. Tarry Town sat on an outcropping of land above Lake Akala, a small land bridge connected to the cliff face on the southern side of the lake. The villager’s quaint homes bordered along the edge, and in the center was a small pond and a shrine to the goddess in the town square.

Link stopped by here often to pick up supplies while he was on his quest to free Zelda. They had the best prices on larger quantities of arrows. Rhondson also sold some clothes she designed herself, and the little Goron, Pelison sold rare ores, but that was at a premium.  They made their way to the inn Karpson ran in his retirement, as he had set aside the couple’s suite for them while they were staying. They took their time to greet everyone that came to celebrate with them.

That evening was the rehearsal followed by a bountiful feast for the couple and whomever was able to come to their wedding, which was almost the entire kingdom. When everyone had their fill of the festivities, Link & Zelda retired to the suite.

“It’s our big day tomorrow… You ready?” Link asked.

“I was born ready,” Zelda giggled in reply.

 

* * *

Morning came early, Zelda awoke to something smothering her face. Her eyes flashed open, Link was a she again, and she was a he.

Now how did this happen? I recall that all of my bottles were hidden in my belongings… But then again Purah was acting suspicious… I wonder… Zelda went to look at her bag, sure enough there was a bottle missing from her pack. She must have spiked our food with it while we were busy with rehearsal...

Taking a look at herself, she wasn’t much taller than she normally was, her body was toned and lean. Her hand were bigger and a little bit rougher than usual, her voice was a silky baritone. There was still a minor bump on her stomach, probably meant that the potion didn’t work as well for her since she was with child anyways.

“Hnn? Zelda you awake?” Link asked, and quickly noticed his alto intonation of his voice. Looking down he knew what was going on again.

“It wasn’t me this time - I swear. But I think I know who played this prank on us…”

“It was Purah, right? She seemed to be acting weird… I suppose we have to postpone the wedding till this wears off?”

“I think not! The show must go on! Let’s speak with Rhondson and see if she can make some adjustments to our garbs. I think we may have to switch outfits, so that means you’ll be in the white dress…”

“Fine… But I am not going to wear heels! With my luck I might break my other leg.”

“Deal, I’m sure Rhondson has some flat slippers you can use.”

* * *

 

They walked over the the Gerudo tailor’s home and explained their situation.

“So this was Purah’s doing? And you still want to continue… Alright, I need you two to try on the other’s clothes, and I’ll adjust the hems as I see fit,” Rhondson said, she didn’t seemed too bothered by the switch.

Link slipped on the bridal gown, and there already were issues. “Umm, I think the bust is too tight, it’s making it hard to breathe… and the hips are uncomfortably tight too.”

“That’s something I can easily fix, I just need to let the seams loose a bit.”

Zelda’s turn was next. She put on the knight’s regalia and the shoulder’s were a bit loose and the slacks’ bottom hem rose above her ankles. “I think mine needs some adjusting too…”

“That’s another easy fix, Paya is here to get you two dolled up for your big day. I think she was waiting at the inn.”

Link & Zelda changed back into their casual clothing and returned to the inn. Paya was waiting by the hearth in the commons. Her face went white as soon as she seen the state of the couple.

“M-master Link! What happened t-to you and Milady Zelda?”

“Your great-aunt did this to us,” Zelda replied with a heavy sigh, “What’s done is done, and we’re just going to have to make do with it.”

“Aunt Purah always had a thing for pranks at the most inconvenient of times…” Paya said as she held her palm to her forehead. “Well, I guess I’ll get to work.”

Paya takes Link to sit in front of a vanity in the inn and began to comb through his hair.

“Your hair is quite beautiful, you would make any girl envious, did it get longer by chance?”

“It probably did, I don’t know… What are you going to- OW!”

“Sorry, Master Link, I had to pull out a snarl. I think I could braid it and pin it into a bun… If that’s okay with you.”

“Whatever is going to look the best. I have total faith in you Paya,” Link replied. She began to blush deeply from the compliment.

After combing out all the tangles, She began to meticulously braid his locks, rolled it into a neat bun on the backside of his head, then finished with some vermillion Shiekah hairpins to hold it in place.

“That should do it, now for the make-up…”

“Please don’t put it on heavy. I’d rather not look like the Great Fairies.”

“Okay Master Link. I’ll just do some blush and lip stain, maybe something to your long eyelashes..?” the Shiekah girl mumbled to herself. The process wasn’t long, and within a few minutes Link was more than ready, “I’m afraid that you can’t see Princess Zelda quite yet, at least not till the ceremony right now. It’s a curse on your marriage.”

Meanwhile, Purah & Symin took Zelda to another room in the inn and got her ready. Purah pushed over a stool next to Zelda; even sitting she was taller than the small Shiekah, the stool just made it easier to reach her golden locks. Symin was on standby to assist when needed.

“Well what do you want to do with your hair?”

“I think just going simple, and braiding it would be best,”Zelda replied as Purah started to weave a tight french braid, and finished with a ribbon to hold it in place.

“How’s that, Zelda?”

“I think you did an excellent job, Purah.”

“Of course I did! What else did you expect? But, not to be a wet blanket, but you’re going to have to stay here till your wedding starts- it’s back luck if the two of you were to see each other.”

 

* * *

After the two of them were fitted into their attire, it was nearly time to begin the ceremony. Zelda stood outside in front of the goddess statue Karpson was standing next to her. The air was filled with pipe organ music accompanied with the concertina played by the Rito bard, Kass.

When Link was ready to walk to aisle, everyone went silent and stood in his direction. Way to make a guy nervous, people… He took a deep breath and began to canter to the front of the aisle to take his place next to Zelda.

Karpson gave a few quick coughs to clear his throat before he began to recite the rites.

“We are gathered here today to witness Sir Link and Princess Zelda proclaim their love for each other before the goddess, Hylia. Now, Sir Link, the rings, please.”

Paya handed over the rings to Link, and he handed over one to Zelda.

“Sir Link, will you take Princess Zelda to be your lawfully wedded wife?  Will you be faithful to her, cherish her, support her, and help her in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live? If so, answer, ‘I do.’”

“I do.”

“Princess Zelda, will you take Sir Link to be your lawfully wedded husband? Will you be faithful to him, cherish him, support him, and help him in sickness and in health as long as you both shall live? If so, answer, ‘I do.’”

“I do.”

“Exchange rings as a symbol of the lifelong commitment and abiding love which you as husband and wife have promised each other.”

“Zelda, receive this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness.”

“Link, receive this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness.”

“By their promises, Sir Link and Princess Zelda have bound themselves together in marriage before the Goddess and these witnesses. Therefore, I declare that they are husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Zelda lifted up the veil covering Link’s face and placed a kiss on his lips to seal the deal. They exited the area, arm in arm, and then the townsfolk began to prepare the town square for the reception banquet. 

* * *

Link and Zelda went to change into more informal clothes for the celebration. Zelda wore his champion’s tunic, and Link wore Zelda’s old ceremonial white dress. The square was illuminated with paper lanterns as the sun began to set.

There was a variety of delicacies from all over the kingdom spread over the buffet table. Honey mead from Hateno, a spicy ale from the Gorons, wildberry wine and makings for Noble Pursuits from the Gerudo, some sake from Kakariko village, and a clear spirit from the Zora’s; there was going to be plenty of beverages for the rest of the night.

Over in front of the goddess statue, a hodge-podge band was forming to provide music for the dance that followed the banquet.

Once everybody had their fill, Kass made the announcement, “Excuse me, I want to announce that we will begin with the first dance by the happy couple.”

“Link, he means us, C’mon,”Zelda said nudging him, then grasped his arm.

“But I don’t know how to dance…” he whispered into her ear.

“I don’t care if you can’’t. Just shut up and dance with me,”she said as she led Link to the dance floor for the first dance. “Relax, and follow my lead.” She placed her hand on the small of his back and guided his to her shoulders.

Then the music began-

 

 _[♪♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv2DSmy3Tro)When the _ _night_ _has come_  
_And the land is dark_  
_And the moon is the only_ _light_ _we'll see_  
_No I won't be_ _afraid_  
_Oh I won't be_ _afraid_  
_Just as long as you_ _stand_ _,_ _stand_ _by me_  
  
_So_ _darlin_ _'_ _darlin_ _'_ _stand_ _by me_  
_Oh_ _stand_ _by me_  
_Oh_ _stand_ _,_ _stand_ _by me,_ _stand_ _by me_  
  
_If the sky that we look upon_  
_Should_ _tumble_ _and fall_  
_Or the_ _mountain_ _should_ _crumble_ _to the sea_  
_I won't cry, I won't cry_  
_No I won't shed a tear_  
_Just as long as you_ _stand_ _,_ _stand_ _by me_  
  
_And_ _darlin_ _'_ _darlin_ _'_ _stand_ _by me_  
_Oh_ _stand_ _by me_  
_Whoa stand now, stand by me, stand by me♪♪_

 

When the music was finished, the audience gave a standing round of applause. Soon, the rest of them began to gather to the dance floor. And they danced the night away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, their wedding wasn't a "normal" wedding...
> 
> I'm going to take a few days to plan out the next part of the story while I have my new beta reader cleans up the chapters. :)
> 
> Stay tuned~☆


End file.
